U.S. v. Bliss, 79-2107
| Decision Date | 03 March 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 79-2107,79-2107 |
| Citation | 642 F.2d 390 |
| Parties | 8 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 390 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Vern K. BLISS, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Sara Criscitelli, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Appellate Div., Washington, D. C. (Charles E. Graves, U. S. Atty., Cheyenne, Wyo., with her on brief), for plaintiff-appellant.
James R. Glover, Milwaukee, Wis. (Stephen M. Glynn and James M. Shellow, Milwaukee, Wis., on brief), of Shellow & Shellow, Milwaukee, Wis., for defendant-appellee.
Before HOLLOWAY, BARRETT and LOGAN, Circuit Judges.
The United States of America appeals the entry of two post-verdict judgments of acquittal.
In September 1978, Vern K. Bliss (Bliss) was charged by indictment with misapplying funds held by the First National Bank of Green River, Green River, Wyoming. Following pretrial motions directed to the sufficiency of the charges, a superseding indictment issued alleging four counts of misapplication of bank funds in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 656 and two counts of falsifying bank records in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1005. In each count, Bliss was identified as "an officer of a member bank of the Federal Reserve System." (R., Vol. I, pp. 52, 53).
Of the six counts charged, the trial judge entered a midtrial judgment of acquittal on one count; the jury acquitted Bliss on three counts; and, the jury handed down guilty verdicts on the remaining two counts. On the motion of the defendant, the District Court set aside the guilty verdicts and granted judgments of acquittal on each count. The entry of the judgments of acquittal was premised on the Court's ruling "that an examination of the record ... fails to disclose any evidence that the First National Bank (of Green River) was a member of the Federal Reserve System," as required by 18 U.S.C. § 1005. (R., Vol. III, p. 488).
On appeal, 1 the Government contends: (1) the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, established that the First National Bank of Green River was a member of the Federal Reserve System on the dates the two charged false entries were made, and, (2) the convictions are sustainable on the ground that Bliss was an officer of a national bank.
In reviewing the grant of a post-verdict motion for judgment of acquittal, "we must view the evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the government to determine whether there is sufficient evidence from which a jury could find that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." United States v. Lopez, 576 F.2d 840, 843 (10th Cir. 1978). No direct evidence of the First National Bank of Green River's membership in the Federal Reserve System was introduced. Similarly, our review of the record indicates the Bank's status as a member of the Federal Reserve System was not inferentially established by the circumstantial evidence presented at trial.
As an alternative theory, the Government contends the guilty verdicts are sustainable on the ground that Bliss was an officer of a national bank at the time of the offenses. 18 U.S.C. § 1005 does, as contended by the Government, encompass both officers of member banks of the Federal Reserve System and national banks. Bliss, however, was charged in his capacity...
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United States v. Iverson
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...that Mohawk's status as a federally-insured bank could be easily inferred from this testimony. This case is unlike United States v. Bliss, 642 F.2d 390 (10th Cir.1981), in which the trial judge set aside guilty verdicts on the ground that there was no evidence the bank was a member of the F......
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Tang Yee-Chun v. Immundi
...and only to certain American banks. Their reliance on United States v. Mize, 756 F.2d 353 (5th Cir.1985) and United States v. Bliss, 642 F.2d 390 (10th Cir.1981) is misplaced. Mize holds that proof of a bank's status as a "Federal Reserve Bank, member bank, national bank or insured bank" is......
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Other Evidence Rules
...committed error in noticing a matter in dispute without providing the parties an opportunity to challenge it. United States v. Bliss , 642 F.2d 390 (10th Cir. 1981). The appellate court refused to judicially notice that a bank was a member of the Federal Reserve System where that fact was a......
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Other Evidence Rules
...committed error in noticing a matter in dispute without providing the parties an opportunity to challenge it. United States v. Bliss , 642 F.2d 390 (10th Cir. 1981). The appellate court refused to judicially notice that a bank was a member of the Federal Reserve System where that fact was a......
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Other Evidence Rules
...committed error in noticing a matter in dispute without providing the parties an opportunity to challenge it. United States v. Bliss , 642 F.2d 390 (10th Cir. 1981). The appellate court refused to judicially notice that a bank was a member of the Federal Reserve System where that fact was a......
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Other evidence rules
...committed error in noticing a matter in dispute without providing the parties an opportunity to challenge it. United States v. Bliss , 642 F.2d 390 (10th Cir. 1981). The appellate court refused to judicially notice that a bank was a member of the Federal Reserve System where that fact was a......