Gold v. United States

151 F. 412
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedJanuary 2, 1907
DocketNo. 1,295
StatusPublished

This text of 151 F. 412 (Gold v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gold v. United States, 151 F. 412 (7th Cir. 1907).

Opinion

SEAMAN, Circuit Judge,

after stating the facts, delivered the opinion of the court.

The bill of- exceptions discloses, in substance, that the evidence was voluminous and tended to establish all the offenses charged in the several counts upon which the plaintiff in error was convicted. Certain deductions from the evidence are stated, without stating the specific testimony, except on the part of four witnesses introduced for the prosecution, namely, Bird, a bookkeeper of the bank; Van Dyke, a bookkeeper of National City Bank, New York; Dean, a bookkeeper of National Bank, of Commerce, St. Louis, and Lewis, a bookkeeper of Security Bank of Minnesota, Minneapolis—each in reference to transactions involved under one or the other count. These facts appear, however, and are undisputed: That defalcations in the funds of the First National Bank of Milwaukee “amounted to about $1,500,000,” which were primarily chargeable to Frank G. Bigelow, the president of the - bank; that the plaintiff in error was the assistant cashier, having charge of the entries, accounts with other banks, and transactions involved under the various counts in question, which entered into such defalcations; that he made and directed false entries in the books of the bank, and charged and falsified the statements of account with ¡other banks, tending to cover up and. accomplish the defalcations, to ' the extent averred in the counts, respectively. The active participation of the plaintiff in error in each of the transactions charged is not only, established, but undenied; and the bill of exceptions states, in effect, that the evidence tended to establish his knowledge of each misapplication and falsification so charged and his fraudulent intent. This evidence is met only by the testimony on the part of the accused that he acted under the direction of Bigelow, the president, “and without any knowledge of their wrongful nature”; and in reference to various 'transactions of false entries, credits, or drafts in favor of one Gordon ■ Bigelow, that all were under such direction and made by him in good ■faith. That the evidence was strongly indicative of a practice on the part of the accused in misapplying the funds of the bank and making false entries to conceal such frauds cannot be doubted under the recitals of the proof.

Upon the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict against the plaintiff in error, tinder each of the 19 counts named therein, no question arises. The objections which are pressed for reversal are (1) want of jurisdiction for .trial át the term designated; (2) alleged errors in permitting certain witnesses “to testify to the- correctness of state[417]*417ments of account prepared by other'persons”; (3) alleged errors in refusing instructions requested on, behalf of the accused.

1. The challenge of jurisdiction is plainly untenable. The objection raised below was that, the indictment having been returned at a “regular term,” the court was without jurisdiction to summon a jury for trial at a “special term,” or “to try a criminal cause at any special term.” Section 581, Rev. St. U. S. [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 477], expressly provides that special terms of District Courts may be ordered by the district judge, “and any business may be transacted at such special term which might be transacted at a regular term.” The act of 1870 (Act June 30, 1870, c. 175, 16 Stat. 171), creating the present judicial districts of Wisconsin, alike provides that the “Circuit Court or District Court” for either district may “order special terms, and order a grand or petit jury, or both,” and “at such special terms shall have all the powers that they have at a regular term appointed by law.” Either provision clearly meets the objection which assumes the term to be special, with no challenge of the assumed order therefor. The further contention for reversal, because no order for a special term was incorporated in the present record, is without force, as there was no call for or reference to it in the trial court.

2. The objections to the testimony of Van Dyke, Dean and Lewis, who were bookkeepers, respectively, of banks sending the periodical statements of account in question to the First National Bank of Milwaukee, appear to rest on a misconception, as we believe, of the rules of evidence applicable to such cases. The statements were produced from the files of the above-named bank, as sent from the respective correspondent banks. Each witness identified the statement as made by his bank and under his direction, when forwarded in due course; and upon reference to the original books of entry—which were in court and introduced in evidence—verified their correctness. Such testimony was admissible, within the rule upheld by this court in Brown v. United States, 142 Fed. 1, 5, 73 C. C. A. 187, and authorities there cited. The statements were in most, if not all, instances, traced to the possession and manipulation of the plaintiff in error—while all were within his charge—and identification alone was sufficient for introduction in that aspect of the case. For all other purposes they were admissible for convenience in reference to and connection with the books of account, which were in evidence with no objection raised; were not conclusive of the correctness of any item therein, but open to examination and verification on reference to the books in evidence. We are satisfied that no error was committed in the reception either of the testimony of these witnesses or of the statements referred to.

3. The alleged errors for denial of several instructions.requested on behalf of the accused are more difficult of solution, as the issues were complicated and the instructions to the jury were necessarily extended to cover the various phases of fact and intent. The trial was protracted, requiring a complete chain of proof under each of the counts submitted to the jury, and instructions thereupon to govern the jury in just consideration of each element so introduced, under the strict rule of burden upon the prosecution to establish both commission of the act charged and criminal intent therein for conviction. ■ In this view, ex-[418]*418animation of the full instructions which were given impresses us with their general fairness and clear definition of the above-mentioned rule, so reiterated under the various phases of the inquiry, that no room appears for misunderstanding the requirement of proof beyond reasonable doubt, not only of the fact that the frauds and misapplication of funds charged were committed by the plaintiff in error, but that the fraudulent purpose was understood and intended by him.

On behalf of the plaintiff in error numerous paragraphs of instructions were requested, many of which were given in the language of the request, while others were given with needful qualifications. Others were plainly unauthorized, and complaint is not urged for their rejection. The following are the instructions requested and not given in the language of the request, upon which error is assigned:

“(a) If, the jury find, upon a careful consideration of the evidence, that it fails to show any motive on the part of the accused to commit any one of the crimes charged against him, this is a circumstance which the jury may consider in connection with all the other evidence in the ease in making up their verdict.
“(b) Before the jury can convict the defendant upon any count of the indictment in this case, it must appear from the evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant, and not some one else, committed the offenses charged in the indictment, or in one or more counts of the indictment.

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Related

Brown v. United States
142 F. 1 (Seventh Circuit, 1905)

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Bluebook (online)
151 F. 412, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gold-v-united-states-ca7-1907.