United States v. J.C. Herbert Bryant, Jr.

117 F.3d 1464, 326 U.S. App. D.C. 114, 1997 WL 370182
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedSeptember 15, 1997
Docket95-3148
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 117 F.3d 1464 (United States v. J.C. Herbert Bryant, Jr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. J.C. Herbert Bryant, Jr., 117 F.3d 1464, 326 U.S. App. D.C. 114, 1997 WL 370182 (D.C. Cir. 1997).

Opinions

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge KAREN LeCRAFT HENDERSON.

Concurring opinion filed by Circuit Judge SILBERMAN.

Concurring opinion filed by Circuit Judge KAREN LeCRAFT HENDERSON.

KAREN LeCRAFT HENDERSON, Circuit Judge:

J.C. Herbert Bryant appeals his conviction on one count of impersonating a federal official in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 9121 and one [1466]*1466count of making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001.2 For the reasons set out below we affirm his conviction on each count.

On September 2, 1992, Bryant, a Virginia resident, drove his truck into the District of Columbia and parked it near the entrance to the Mayflower Hotel, which was then hosting an Israeli diplomatic delegation. In the front window of the truck was a placard bearing the words “United States Marshal” in large bold print and in the rear compartment, visible from without, lay 6 guns: three 9 mm Beretta pistols, a .44 caliber magnum revolver, a .357 caliber magnum revolver and a .22 caliber derringer. After a brief time inside the hotel, Bryant emerged to move the truck and discovered it had attracted the attention of several government officials, among them two United States Diplomatic Security Service Agents and two officers of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

After Bryant approached the truck and identified himself as its driver, he was questioned at length about the weapons and about his identity. Bryant explained that he had left the firearms in the truck after a target shooting session at a northern Virginia firing range and informed the officers that he was a Warren County, Mississippi deputy sheriff, producing a badge and identification card as proof. According to the testimony of Diplomatic Security Service Agent Mark Conord, he also identified himself as a “Special Deputy U.S. Marshal.” Excerpt from 10/3/94 Trial Tr. 1, 12, 45. The MPD officers on the scene contacted the District of Columbia United States Marshal’s office to clarify his status. Responding to the call, Robert Williamson, a supervisory deputy marshal, arrived at the scene a short time later. Williamson testified at trial that he also heard Bryant identify himself as a “Special Deputy U.S. Marshal.” Excerpt from 10/4/94 Trial Tr. at 21, 27. In addition, both Williamson and MPD Officer Anthony Suarez testified that Bryant claimed he had left his Marshals Service credentials in a briefcase at home.

During Bryant’s detention outside the Mayflower, Marshal Herbert M. Rutherford III, United States Marshal for the District of Columbia, contacted the national Marshals Service headquarters in Virginia and attempted to ascertain Bryant’s official status from several Marshals Service officials. When his attempts proved fruitless, Rutherford arranged, with the consent of the MPD officers, for Bryant and his truck to be brought to the District of Columbia Marshals Service office. After a brief interview, Rutherford released Bryant and his truck but retained the firearms. It was later determined that Bryant held no official position with the Marshals Service at the time of the incident, although he had previously been a “Special Deputy Marshal”3 for several suc[1467]*1467cessive one-year terms, the last of which ended on June 30,1992.

Almost two years later, on June 14, 1994, Bryant was indicted on 3 counts: (1) violating 18 U.S.C. § 912 in that he “did falsely assume and pretend to be a Special Deputy United States Marshal and in such pretended character, demanded and obtained that he not be arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department for possessing and carrying weapons in the District of Columbia”; (2) violating D.C.Code § 22-3204(a)4 in that he “did carry, openly, and concealed on or about his person, pistols, without a license issued as provided by law”; and (3) violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001 in that “in a matter within the jurisdiction of a department and agency of the United States, to wit, the United States Marshals Service, did knowingly make a false and fraudulent statement.” Appellant’s App. 10-11.

A bench trial was held in October 1994 at which Bryant asserted as a defense to counts 1 and 3 that he never stated on September 2, 1992 that he was then a special deputy marshal and as a defense to count two that he was a duly appointed deputy sheriff of Warren County, Mississippi, exempt under D.C.Code § 22-3205(a)5 from the statutory prohibition against carrying pistols without a license.

The district court convicted Bryant on counts 1 and 3 and acquitted him on count 2. On count 1, the court “specifically f[ound] that Mr. Bryant claimed to be a Special Deputy United States Marshal during the course of his conversations with the law enforcement officials on the scene,” “credit[ing] the clear, firm and unequivocal testimony of Special Agent Conord,” which he accepted “as honest and truthful,” and “the clear and unequivocal testimony of Supervisory Deputy Marshal Williamson.” Excerpt from 10/16/94 Trial Tr. 7. The court expressly rejected Bryant’s “self-serving testimony that he never said he was a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal.” Id. 8. On count 3, the court similarly found “that Mr. Bryant represented to Special Agent Conord and to Deputy Williamson that he was a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal, and that he had credentials at home in a briefcase that would substantiate his claimed status.” Id. 9. He further found “beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Bryant deceitfully represented that he was a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal, and this false statement is a criminal offense under 18 U.S.C. Section 1001.”6 Id. 10. Bryant appeals his convictions on four grounds. We address each in turn.

First, Bryant asserts that the evidence fails to support his conviction under either count 1 or count 3 because the government failed to prove that he ever represented he was a special deputy marshal. “‘The governing standard for reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence in non-jury cases is the same as that applied in jury cases: The conviction must be reversed when the evidence is such that a reasonable mind could not find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” United States v. Thomas, 864 F.2d 188, 191 (D.C.Cir.1988) (quoting United States v. Castellanos, 731 F.2d 979, 984 (D.C.Cir.1984)). Bryant argues that standard has been met because the “overwhelming” evidence, including testimony of witnesses he characterizes as more credible than those on whom the district court relied, supports his version of the facts.

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United States v. J.C. Herbert Bryant, Jr.
117 F.3d 1464 (D.C. Circuit, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
117 F.3d 1464, 326 U.S. App. D.C. 114, 1997 WL 370182, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jc-herbert-bryant-jr-cadc-1997.