United States v. Bleckley

• Decision Date: 30 April 1973
• Docket Number: No. 72-3362 Summary Calendar.,72-3362 Summary Calendar.
• Citation: 475 F.2d 1225
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Thomas Carlton BLECKLEY, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

475 F.2d 1225 (1973)

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Thomas Carlton BLECKLEY, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 72-3362 Summary Calendar.^*

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

April 10, 1973.

Rehearing Denied April 30, 1973.

C. Frank Strickland, Jr., Gainesville, Ga., for defendant-appellant.

John W. Stokes, Jr., U. S. Atty., Robert L. Smith, Asst. U. S. Atty., Atlanta, Ga., for plaintiff-appellee.

Before JOHN R. BROWN, Chief Judge, and DYER and SIMPSON, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction entered on a jury verdict that Bleckley wilfully and by means and use of a dangerous weapon, a 30-30 rifle, forcibly assaulted a United States Deputy Game Warden who was engaged in the performance of his official duties, in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. § 111.

Bleckley's sole point on appeal is that the Government failed to prove his sanity beyond a reasonable doubt and that he was entitled to a directed verdict of acquittal.

Bleckley's defense of insanity at the time of the offense was properly submitted to the jury on conflicting evidence under a correct charge conforming to the standards of Blake v. United States, 5 Cir. 1969, 407 F.2d 908.

"As we said in Blake `the evidence could go either way.' Here the jury found that it went against the defendant. The jury need not be bound by defendant's expert testimony, especially since there are `material variations between the experts themselves * * *.' Mims v. United States, 5 Cir., 1967, 375 F.2d 135, 143. It was for the jury, not the Court." United States v. O'Neal, 5 Cir. 1970, 431 F.2d 695, cert. denied, 401 U.S. 917, 91 S.Ct. 898, 27 L.Ed.2d 818.

Affirmed.

* Rule 18, 5 Cir.; see Isbell Enterprises, Inc. v. Citizens Casualty Company of New York et al., 5 Cir. 1970, 431 F.2d 409, Part I.