United States v. Cook

Decision Date26 October 1950
Docket NumberNo. 10149.,10149.
Citation184 F.2d 642
PartiesUNITED STATES v. COOK.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Ernest A. Greene, Chicago, Ill., for appellant.

Otto Kerner, Jr., U. S. Atty., Richard E. Gorman, Asst. U. S. Atty., Chicago, Ill., for appellee.

Before MAJOR, Chief Judge, and FINNEGAN and LINDLEY, Circuit Judges.

FINNEGAN, Circuit Judge.

Appellant, Charles Cook, was found guilty of a violation of the narcotic laws of the United States.

He had been jointly indicted with one Harding L. Walton, on April 29, 1949. The indictment contained three counts.

The first count charged that the defendants on February 24, 1949, at Chicago, in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, had in their possession six grains of heroin and eight grains of cocaine which was not in or from the original stamped package and which did not bear the approximate tax stamps in violation of 26 U.S. C.A. § 2553(a). The second count charged that the same defendants facilitated the concealment and transportation of the said quantities of narcotics which had been imported into the United States in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 174. The third count charged the appellant alone with having in his possession twenty-eight cigarettes containing marijuana, without having paid a transfer tax for such marijuana, in violation of 26 U.S.C.A. § 2593(a).

When the case was called for trial on March 31, 1950, the defendant, Harding L. Walton, withdrew his plea of not guilty and entered a plea of guilty. Motion for a continuance was thereupon made on behalf of the defendant-appellant. This motion was denied.

After being apprised of his rights, defendant-appellant signed a waiver of trial by jury. The court found him guilty as charged in the indictment and entered judgment sentencing him to one year and one day in the custody of the Attorney General. The defendant, Harding L. Walton, was also found guilty and sentenced for a like time. Probation was granted the defendant Walton for the period of one year and one day, but was denied the defendant Charles Cook.

The appellant urges here that the court erred in denying him a continuance when his co-defendant, Walton, withdrew his plea of not guilty and entered a plea of guilty. Appellant also insists that the evidence is insufficient to support the judgment.

It is well settled that the action of a trial court upon an application for continuance is a matter of discretion and will not be reviewed unless there is a clear...

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10 cases
  • Gordon v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit
    • March 30, 1971
    ...v. Caci, 401 F.2d 664, 670 (2d Cir. 1968); United States v. Washington, 253 F.2d 913, 915-916 (7th Cir. 1958); United States v. Cook, 184 F.2d 642, 644 (7th Cir. 1950). 37 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967). In Chapman, the Court stated "* * * before a federal constitutional e......
  • Payton v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit
    • April 14, 1955
    ...118 F.2d 375, 379-80, certiorari denied sub nom. Ruben v. United States, 315 U.S. 798, 62 S.Ct. 580, 86 L.Ed. 1199; United States v. Cook, 7 Cir., 184 F.2d 642. See, also, Avery v. State of Alabama, 308 U.S. 444, 60 S.Ct. 321, 84 L.Ed. 377. The point is a trouble-some one, however, for it w......
  • United States v. Echeles
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
    • May 10, 1955
    ...690, 701; United States v. Hartenfeld, 7 Cir., 113 F.2d 359, 362, certiorari denied 311 U.S. 647, 61 S.Ct. 30, 85 L.Ed. 413; U. S. v. Cook, 7 Cir., 184 F.2d 642, 643. We hold that the refusal to grant a continuance under the circumstances above outlined was not an abuse of discretion and do......
  • United States v. Washington, 12185.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
    • April 17, 1958
    ...credibility to be attached to the testimony of the witnesses is a matter for determination by the trier of the facts. United States v. Cook, 7 Cir., 1950, 184 F.2d 642, 644; United States v. Detente, 7 Cir., 1952, 199 F. 2d 286, 288; United States v. White, 7 Cir., 1956, 228 F.2d 832, 833; ......
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