Deupree v. United States

2 F.2d 44, 1924 U.S. App. LEXIS 1975
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedOctober 27, 1924
Docket4265
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 2 F.2d 44 (Deupree v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deupree v. United States, 2 F.2d 44, 1924 U.S. App. LEXIS 1975 (9th Cir. 1924).

Opinion

ROSS, Circuit Judge

(after stating the facts as above). It has been repeatly held by this court that, where a motion for a directed verdict is made upon the conclusion of the case for the government, and denied, with a reserved exception, and the defendant proceeds to introduce evidence on his own behalf, without renewing upon the close of all of the evidence the motion before made, the sufficiency of the evidence cannot be reviewed by the appellate court. United States v. McDonald (D. C.) 293 F. 433; Clark v. United States, 245 F. 112, 157 C. C. A. 408; Thlinket Packing Co. v. United States, 236 F. 109, 149 C. C. A. 319. It has also been repeatedly held by this court that, where no objection is taken to the remarks of the prosecuting attorney during the trial, it is too late to raise the question here. See McDonough v. United States (C. C. A.) 299 F. 30, 38, 39, and cases there cited.

Our attention has been called by counsel for the plaintiff in error to the decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in the case of August v. United States, 257 F. 388, 392, 168 C. C. A. 428, where that court held that the amendment to section 269 of the Judicial Code, made by the Act of February 26, 1919, c. 48, (Comp. St. Ann. Supp. 1919, § 1246), declaring that “on the hearing of any appeal, certiorari, writ of error, or motion for a new trial, in any case, civil or criminal, the court shall give judgment after an examination of the entire record before the court, without regard to technical errors, defects, or exceptions which do not affect the substantial rights of the parties,” “fully authorizes and commands us to look to the entire record before the court, and render judgment without regard to. the technical error of the want of exceptions to the remarks of counsel.”

We are not able to take that view of that, amendment. In the recent case of Robilio v. United States, 291 F. 975, the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said:

“In our opinion, while amended section 269 does not attempt to sanction a violation of substantial, rights, or to disregard prejudice (West v. United States [C. C. A. 6] 258 F. 413, 415, 369 C. C. A. 429; Consolidation Co. v. Peninsular Co. [C. C. A. 6] 272 F. 625, 633), it does not extend the authority of the reviewing court, in the interest of a plaintiff in error, beyond that permissible under the previously existing rule for. preventing miscarriage of justice (Katz v. United Statesr [C. C. A. 1] 273 F. 157, 158, 159). A prominent object seems to have been to prevent reversal of judgments for mere technical errors which did not prejudice. Kirk v. United States (C. C. A. 8) 280 F. 506, 507; Lucadamo v. United States (C. C. A. 2) 280 F. 653, 658; Honeycutt v. United States (C. C. A. 4) 277 F. 941, 944; Southern Oil Corp. v. Waggoner (C. C. A. 5) 276 F. 487, 490. The statute has been so treated by us. It is the generally accepted rule that the section does not dispense with the necessity of objection or exception, both as respects the admission and rejection of testimony and the charge to the jury. Garson v. Jackson, 281 F. 411, 416, 417, 52 App. D. C. 51; Thompson v. United States (C. C. A. 3) 283 F. 895, 896, 897; Roberts v. United States (C. C. A. 8) 283 F. 960, 967; Rosen v. United States (C. C. A. 2) 271 F. 651, 653; De Jianne v. United States (C. C. A. 3) 282 F. 737, 739; Standard v. Allen, 267 F. 645, 647, 50 App. D. C. 87. And such has been the practice of this court.”

And in the case of Bilboa v. United States, 287 F. 125, 126, this court held:

*46 “This rule is not changed or modified by the Act of February 26, 1919, amending section 269 of the Judicial Code (Comp. St. Ann. Supp. 1919, § 1246), which declares that appellate courts shall give judgment after examination of the entire record, without regard to technical errors, defects, or exceptions which do not affect the substantial rights of the parties. i The purpose of this amendment is to prevent reversals based on technical errors, which, though properly preserved, do not affect substantial rights; but it does not require the court to decide on the whole record whether exception was taken or not, or overlook defects due to negligence or inattention. Storgard v. France & Canada S. S. Cor. (C. C. A.) 263 F. 545; Haywood v. U. S. (C. C. A.) 268 F. 795; Rich v. U. S. (C. C. A.) 271 F. 566; Standard Oil v. Allen, 50 App. D. C. 87, 267 F. 645.”

Even if we were, not precluded, for the reason that has been stated, from considering the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict, we should have no difficulty in disposing of the contention of the plaintiff in error in that regard,

What has been said applies as well to the objection urged in the plaintiff in error’s sixth assignment of error. The instruction there referred to was not objected to, nor was any request made to the trial court for any other or further instruction upon that subject-matter. See Dimock v. United States, 293 F. 839, 54 App. D. C. 20; United States v. Bok (D. C.) 293 F. 433; Roth v. United States (C. C. A.) 294 F. 475; Landwirth v. United States (C. C. A.) 299 F. 281; Ader v. United States (C. C. A.) 284 F. 13; Mangum v. United States (C. C. A.) 289 F. 213.

To the instructions of the court forming the basis of the seventh and tenth assignments of error, certain objections were taken by the plaintiff in error. Regarding the latter, the instruction of the court, in speaking of the sixth count of the indictment, was as follows:

“The primary- question there is, again, whether or not, if the defendant had had no personal or self interest in that transaction with Mr. Nichols, would he, acting for the bank, have loaned Mr. Nichols $1,100 upon 'an unsecured note, or was he actuated in this transaction by his self-interest in it, by the fact that he was to get the $1,100 from the bank?' You have a right to scrutinize a transaction of that kind carefully, because "the cashier was lending to a third person $1,100, which, in turn, the third person was turning over to him, the cashier. If you find that in good faith the defendant here believed that it was a good loan for the bank, that it was a reasonably good loan, that Mr. Nichols was entitled to this credit, then you should not charge him with criminality in connection with it. But if, upon the other hand, you think that the defendant here realized that Mr. Nichols was not a good credit for the bank for that amount, but that he, the defendant, was induced to enter into the transaction on behalf of the bank, because he, the defendant, was getting the money, then you may consider that as bearing upon the general question as to whether he had the essential indispensable intent to injure or defraud the bank.”

And the objection made by counsel to that instruction was as follows:

“May we have an exception to that portion of the court’s instructions regarding the Nichols loan, that a test or standard to be applied by the jury was whether or not, if Mr. Deupree had not himself desired the money, he would have loaned Mr. Nichols $1,100, on the ground that in our opinion it is not the proper test under the statute for misapplication, but that the test stated by the court applies rather to maladministration than to misapplication.

“The Court: Very well.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Tudor v. United States
142 F.2d 206 (Ninth Circuit, 1944)
Hemphill v. United States
112 F.2d 505 (Ninth Circuit, 1940)
Mitton v. United States
83 F.2d 278 (Ninth Circuit, 1936)
Baldwin v. United States
72 F.2d 810 (Ninth Circuit, 1934)
Brown v. Carver
45 F.2d 673 (Second Circuit, 1930)
Feather River Lumber Co. v. United States
30 F.2d 642 (Ninth Circuit, 1929)
Hammert v. United States
14 F.2d 827 (Eighth Circuit, 1926)
Critzer v. United States
8 F.2d 266 (Ninth Circuit, 1925)
Miller v. United States
4 F.2d 384 (Ninth Circuit, 1925)
Sam Wong v. United States
2 F.2d 969 (Ninth Circuit, 1925)
Lucis v. United States
2 F.2d 975 (Ninth Circuit, 1925)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2 F.2d 44, 1924 U.S. App. LEXIS 1975, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deupree-v-united-states-ca9-1924.