United States v. Martinez-Villanueva, 71-2133.

Decision Date16 October 1972
Docket NumberNo. 71-2133.,71-2133.
Citation463 F.2d 1336
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Pete MARTINEZ-VILLANUEVA and George Callahan, Defendants-Appellants.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Louis H. Bernstein (argued), Beverly Hills, Cal.; Burton Marks, of Marks, Sherman, Schwartz & Levenberg, Beverly Hills, Cal., for appellants.

Earl E. Boyd, Asst. U. S. Atty. (argued), Eric A. Nobles, Elgin C. Edwards, Asst. U. S. Attys., William D. Keller, U. S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., for appellee.

Before BROWNING and DUNIWAY, Circuit Judges, and ANDERSON,* District Judge.

Certiorari Denied October 16, 1972. See 93 S.Ct. 236.

PER CURIAM.

Appellants Pete Martinez-Villanueva and George Callahan were convicted, after a jury trial, with having received, concealed and sold heroin without first obtaining written order forms from the Secretary of the Treasury in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 174 and 26 U.S.C.A. § 4705 (a).

Appellants' contentions regarding failure of proof that they had sufficient control over the heroin to support a conviction has been dealt with in Juvera v. United States, 378 F.2d 433 (9th Cir. 1967) and the facts as presented in this case meet the dictates of Juvera.

The granting of a motion for severance pursuant to Rule 14 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be overruled by this court without a showing of clear prejudice, which has not been shown to be the case here. Cortez v. United States, 405 F.2d 875 (9th Cir. 1968).

The issue of the constitutionality of the Ninth Circuit rule that criminal defendants must admit the elements of a crime in order to avail themselves of the defense of entrapment, Wright v. United States, 391 F.2d 542 (9th Cir. 1968), is moot because the trial court gave an entrapment instruction to the jury and did not require appellants to conform to the rule as a condition of asserting the defense nor the giving of the entrapment instruction.

The order of proof at trial is a matter within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be overturned in the absence of prejudicial error and none has been shown in this case. Enriquez v. United States, 293 F.2d 788 (9th Cir. 1961).

Accordingly, it is the opinion of this court that the decision of the trial court should be, and the same hereby is affirmed.

* Honorable J. Blaine Anderson, United States District Judge, District of...

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  • U.S. v. Ives
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • August 9, 1974
    ...the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be overturned in the absence of prejudicial error . . ..' United States v. Martinez-Villanueva, 463 F.2d 1336, 1337 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 915, 93 S.Ct. 236, 34 L.Ed.2d 177 (1972). The trial judge did not abuse his discretion ......
  • Geders v. United States
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    ...for abuse of discretion. Goldsby v. United States, 160 U.S. 70, 74, 16 S.Ct. 216, 218, 40 L.Ed. 343, 345 (1895); United States v. Martinez-Villanueva, 463 F.2d 1336 (CA9 1972); Nelson v. United States, 415 F.2d 483, 487 (CA5 1969), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 1060, 90 S.Ct. 751, 24 L.Ed.2d 754 (......
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    • September 21, 1977
    ...are properly joined, the denial of a severance motion will not be overruled without a showing of clear prejudice. United States v. Martinez-Villanueva, 463 F.2d 1336 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 915, 93 S.Ct. 236, 34 L.Ed.2d 177 (1972). See Davenport v. United States, 260 F.2d 591 (9t......
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