United States v. Dickerson, 531

Decision Date28 June 1965
Docket NumberDocket 28870.,No. 531,531
Citation347 F.2d 783
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Richard DICKERSON, Appellant.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Hugh C. Humphreys, Asst. U. S. Atty., (Robert M. Morgenthau, U. S. Atty., Michael W. Mitchell, Asst. U. S. Atty.), for appellee.

Paul M. Frank, New York City, (Anthony F. Marra, The Legal Aid Society), New York City, for appellant.

Before WATERMAN, FRIENDLY and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

WATERMAN, Circuit Judge:

Upon an indictment containing but one count, appellant was charged with having violated 21 U.S.C. §§ 173, 174, and was convicted after a short jury trial before Judge Weinfeld in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. We affirm the conviction.

The violation occurred on April 26, 1962 when, through the cooperative activity of one Verdier, an informer afflicted with tuberculosis who died in June 1962, defendant sold some fifteen grams of heroin hydrochloride to an agent of the Bureau of Narcotics. Appellant was arrested seventeen months after the sale, on September 20, 1963.

Appellant, who took the stand in his own defense, maintained at trial that he was not the seller, that his brother Charles was first listed by agents as the seller, and that this confusion on the government's part warranted his acquittal. The agent, however, positively identified appellant as the seller. The conflicting testimony as to this issue of identity was squarely presented to the jury whose province it was to decide it, see United States v. Kahaner, 317 F.2d 459, 467 (2 Cir.), cert. denied, Corallo v. United States, 375 U.S. 835, 836, 84 S. Ct. 62, 11 L.Ed.2d 65 (1963), and they chose to believe the agent.

Now, upon appeal, and for the first time, appellant maintains that his conviction should be set aside, because the seventeen-month delay prior to his arrest denied him his right to a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment, and because, as the informer had died during that period, the delay was particularly prejudicial. An examination of the record convinces us that this claim, never raised below, is of no avail to appellant. The government testimony was to the effect that, during the period between the crime and the arrest, narcotics agents were attempting to complete their undercover investigation of appellant and his cohorts, first with the help of Verdier, and later through another informer. See United States v. Simmons, 338...

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11 cases
  • United States v. Marion 8212 19
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • 20 december 1971
    ...United States v. Holiday, 319 F.2d 775, 776 (CA2 1963); United States v. Hammond, 360 F.2d 688, 689 (CA2 1966); United States v. Dickerson, 347 F.2d 783, 784 (CA2 1965); United States v. Rivera, 346 F.2d 942, 943 (CA2 1965); United States v. Sanchez, 361 F.2d 824, 825 (CA2 1966); United Sta......
  • United States v. Singleton
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit)
    • 12 mei 1972
    ...however, that fact alone is not sufficient to establish that the defendant was denied due process, see, e. g., United States v. Dickerson, 347 F.2d 783, 784 (2 Cir. 1965). Furthermore, the Government was prepared to go to trial in April, 1971, when Morris was able to testify, but the trial ......
  • United States v. Colitto
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York
    • 9 november 1970
    ...123 U.S. App.D.C. 219, 385 F.2d 850 (1966); Powell v. United States, 122 U.S.App. D.C. 229, 352 F.2d 705 (1965); United States v. Dickerson, 347 F.2d 783 (2d Cir. 1965); United States v. Kaufman, 311 F.2d 695 (2nd Cir. 1963); ABA, Standards Relating to Speedy Trial, 22-23 (Approved Draft 19......
  • United States v. Feinberg
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit)
    • 31 juli 1967
    ...287 F.2d 304 (9 Cir. 1960), rev'd on other grounds, 368 U.S. 345, 82 S.Ct. 384, 7 L.Ed.2d 341 (1961). But see United States v. Dickerson, 347 F.2d 783, 784 (2 Cir. 1965); United States v. Simmons, 338 F.2d 804, 806 (2 Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 380 U.S. 983, 85 S.Ct. 1352 Appellant argues th......
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