U.S. v. Spaulding

Decision Date18 September 1978
Docket NumberNos. 75-2210,75-2615,s. 75-2210
Citation588 F.2d 669
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Travis O. SPAULDING, Defendant-Appellant. Travis O. SPAULDING, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Herb MASCHNER, Respondent-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

William J. Bender, Asst. Federal Public Defender (argued), Seattle, Wash., for petitioner-appellant.

Stephen Cooper, Asst. U.S. Atty. (argued), Fairbanks, Alaska, for respondent-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court District of Alaska.

Before HUFSTEDLER and KENNEDY, Circuit Judges, and NIELSEN, District Judge. *

These are consolidated appeals from the denial of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and from the judgments entered after appellant's conviction on two counts of use of the mails to extort (18 U.S.C. § 876) and two counts of use of the mails to make a bomb threat (18 U.S.C. § 844(e)).

We find no reversible error and therefore AFFIRM.

The principal thrust of the petition for a writ of habeas corpus was that appellant had been denied his right to a speedy trial. The record shows he was arrested March 9, 1974 and the trial started April 8, 1975.

The record also shows, however, that on August 12, 1974, some five months after his arrest, appellant signed a waiver of his right to a speedy trial and that this waiver was filed August 15, 1974.

After a hearing on April 4, 1975 the trial court denied the petition for the writ, and we hold such denial necessarily includes a finding by the trial court that the waiver was free, voluntary and knowingly entered into by appellant despite his testimony to the contrary at the hearing. Such a finding mandates affirmance of the trial court's ruling on the writ.

Appellant claims he was denied due process by the trial court when it refused to allow his appointed counsel funds under 18 U.S.C. 3006A(e) for the employment of experts to examine the fingerprint and typewriting evidence in the possession of the government and to have them perhaps contest the testimony of the FBI experts as to such evidence.

After oral argument this panel remanded the case to the District Court for the appointment of such experts and to hold a hearing to determine if the testimony of those experts would conflict with that given by the FBI experts. This was done.

We have examined the transcript of that hearing and the findings of the trial judge and agree with him that such experts would perhaps have benefited the defense in an advisory capacity but would have supplied at best only minimal helpful evidence. Under the circumstances of this case we cannot find that the defendant established prejudice to him by clear and convincing evidence in the denial of the funds for the...

To continue reading

Request your trial
6 cases
  • Hollinger v. Titan Capital Corp.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • 13 Noviembre 1990
    ... ... Foremost Guar. Corp. v. Meritor Sav. Bank, 910 F.2d 118 (4th Cir.1990) ... 7 Although the SEC urges us to adopt a standard of recklessness based on the common law of fraud's standard of "conscious indifference," we prefer the Sunstrand standard of ... ...
  • U.S. v. Sims
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • 30 Abril 1980
    ...by the court's failure to appoint an expert. United States v. Washabaugh, 442 F.2d 1127, 1130 (9th Cir. 1971); United States v. Spaulding, 588 F.2d 669 (9th Cir. 1978). Sims has not shown how his cross-examination of the eyewitness was any less effective without the services of the expert. ......
  • Kersh v. General Council of Assemblies of God
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • 13 Noviembre 1986
  • Kersh v. General Council of the Assemblies of God, C-81-2734 TEH.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of California
    • 12 Marzo 1982
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT