Sunday, November 17, 2013

United States v. Bowser case brief

United States v. Bowser case brief summary
532 F.2d 1318 (1976)


CASE SYNOPSIS
Defendant appealed the judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, which convicted him of entering a bank to commit a felony, namely larceny, in violation of 18 U.S.C.S. § 2113(a), bank larceny in violation of 18 U.S.C.S. § 2113(b), and conspiracy to commit bank larceny in violation of 18 U.S.C.S. § 371.

CASE FACTS
Defendant and two others were arrested for conspiracy to commit bank larceny under 18 U.S.C.S. § 371, entering a bank to commit a felony, namely larceny, under 18 U.S.C.S. § 2113(a), and bank larceny under 18 U.S.C.S. § 2113(b). His codefendants, one of whom was the bank teller involved in the crime, pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

DISCUSSION

  • On appeal from his conviction for all charges, defendant's main contention was that the only offense supported by the record was embezzlement, which was not charged. 
  • He also claimed that the district court erred in refusing to suppress evidence seized under a search warrant, because it was not supported by probable cause, that testimony was erroneously admitted, and that prosecutorial misconduct required reversal. 
  • In affirming the judgment, the court found that while the bank teller had lawful possession of the monies for a time, in giving them to a codefendant the trespassory taking element of larceny was established. 
  • The court found that the warrant affidavit provided probable cause, that there was no prosecutorial misconduct, that any error in the admission of testimony was harmless, and that there was sufficient evidence to support the verdict.

CONCLUSION
The court affirmed the judgment of the district court, which convicted defendant of conspiracy to commit bank larceny, entering a bank to commit a felony, namely larceny, and bank larceny. The court held that a trespassory taking, necessary for a larceny offense, was shown by the record and the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict, and that any error in the admission of evidence during trial was harmless.

Recommended Supplements for Criminal Law

No comments:

Post a Comment

The Ins and Outs of Class Action Lawsuits: A Comprehensive Guide

Sometimes, you may buy a product only to find it defective. To make it worse, your search for the product reveals mass complaints. You can ...