United States v. Means

695 F. Supp. 288, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10696, 1988 WL 97802
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Mississippi
DecidedAugust 29, 1988
DocketCrim. No. J80-00037(R)
StatusPublished

This text of 695 F. Supp. 288 (United States v. Means) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Means, 695 F. Supp. 288, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10696, 1988 WL 97802 (S.D. Miss. 1988).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DAN M. RUSSELL, Jr., District Judge.

The defendant, James H. Means, with his co-defendant, Edgar H. Lloyd, Jr., was named in a three-count indictment, Count I charging a violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1342 (mail fraud) and Counts II and III charging violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343, 1342 (fraud by wire). The defendant was convicted on September 11, 1981. On appeal the defendant’s conviction was affirmed. United States v. Means, 695 F.2d 811 (5th Cir.1983). Pursuant to the Order of this Court, the defendant paid a $3,000.00 fine and served a sentence of sixteen (16) months confinement and five (5) years probation. The defendant is now before this Court on Motion to Set Aside Judgment, and in support thereof argues that pursuant to McNally v. United States, - U.S. -, 107 S.Ct. 2875, 97 L.Ed.2d 292 (1987), his conviction should be set aside and retroactively vacated. Based upon the findings and conclusions set forth below, this Court is of the opinion that the motion to set aside the judgment is not well taken and should be denied.

I. McNALLY

In McNally, the United States Supreme Court was faced with a situation wherein public officials and a private individual from the Commonwealth of Kentucky were charged and convicted with violating section 13411 by devising a scheme to defraud Kentucky’s citizens and government of certain “intangible rights,” such as the right to have Kentucky’s affairs conducted honestly, and for obtaining money by means of false pretenses and concealing material facts. In examining the facts before it, the Supreme Court noted “[T]hat as the action comes ... there was no charge and the jury was not required to find that the Commonwealth itself was defrauded of money or property”. Id., - U.S. at -, 107 S.Ct. at 2882. The Court further stated that “[although the Government now relies in part on the assertion that the petitioners obtained property by means of false [290]*290representations ... there was nothing in the jury charge that required such a finding.” Id., — U.S. at -, 107 S.Ct. at 2882. In reversing the Court of Appeals and the District Court, the Supreme Court determined that the mail fraud statute did not apply to schemes to defraud citizens of their intangible right to honest and impartial state government; but rather that section 1341 was limited in scope to the protection of money or property rights. Id., — U.S. at -, 107 S.Ct. at 2877.

II. THE INDICTMENT

The defendant contends that instruction no. 162 given by the Court was an alternative charge to the jury based on one of the Government’s theories of guilt by an allegation in the indictment in paragraph 2 of Count I concerning the State of Mississippi’s loss of “honest and faithful service.”

In response the Government points out that in reviewing the defendant’s conviction, the Fifth Circuit opined that the proof presented as to the scheme to defraud both Singing River Bank and First Mississippi Bank of Commerce was “[Djamning evidence of an ‘influence-for-pay’ scheme” ... and that “[Sufficient evidence was presented to support an inference by the jury of a scheme by Lloyd and Means to swap their influence for money.” United States v. Means, 695 F.2d at 816. Furthermore, the Government submits that with respect to Count I of the indictment, it was charged inter alia that the defendant engaged in a scheme, “[T]o obtain money and property by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises from persons interested in the affairs and business of Singing River Bank and First Mississippi Bank of Commerce.” The Government also points out that the basic premise with respect to the illegal conduct of the defendant was set forth in paragraph 4 of Count I of the indictment which basically charged that: through a scheme fraudulently carried out by both defendants, the people with Singing River Bank and First Mississippi Bank of Commerce paid money in return for the defendant (Means) approving pending applications before the State Department of Bank Supervision.

Although the Government concedes that in paragraph 2 of Count I of the indictment it was alleged that there was a loss of “honest and faithful service” by the State of Mississippi, by the conduct of the defendant, the Government argues that because “honest and faithful service” was only mentioned once in the indictment and prior to so reading, the Court instructed the jury that the indictment was not to be considered as evidence, the statement was of no consequence. This Court agrees. In United States v. Matt, 838 F.2d 1356 (5th Cir.1988), the Fifth Circuit, when faced with an almost identical “indictment” issue as in the case sub judice, stated that:

[H]e maintains, the court confused the jury by noting that Matt was accused of a scheme to defraud Brown & Williamson of its money, property and right to the honest services of Matt. By acting on this instruction, the argument runs, the jury may have convicted Matt of failure to provide honest services — an intangible right that McNally holds is outside the scope of § 1341.
This claim has no merit. The district court mentioned ‘honest service’ once, in the context of reviewing the indictment; and it made clear to the jury that the indictment was not to be considered by the jury as evidence of guilty. In addition, when setting out for the jury what the government had to prove to establish Matt’s guilt under § 1341, the Court correctly limited the coverage of the statute to money and property; ...

Id. at 1358.

III. THE INSTRUCTIONS

The primary area of contention surrounding the present motion concerns whether or not the instructions given at the trial of this cause, should now, in light of McNally, [291]*291be considered as having permitted the jury to find the defendant guilty on an alternative argument outside the statutory grasp of section 1341. It is the defendant’s position that when his case was submitted to the jury for deliberation, the instructions, as given, did not require the jury to find that he had deprived the State of Mississippi-of a money and/or property right in order to convict. In support of this argument, the defendant draws this Court’s attention to a part of instruction no. 16, which stated that:

The prohibitions of the law are not restricted to acts which cheat the State or Federal government out of money or property or result in an actual financial loss to it. Rather, the prohibition includes any obstruction or impairment of a function of a State or Federal governmental agency by deceptive means, craft, trickery, deceit or at least by means that are dishonest.

In response the Government asserts that the instructions given, specifically No. 11 and No. 13 sufficiently set forth that the violations of which findings of guilt were required, were not based upon “intangible rights” but upon findings of fraud and deprivation of money or property rights.

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Related

McNally v. United States
483 U.S. 350 (Supreme Court, 1987)
United States v. Glenn Wellman
830 F.2d 1453 (Seventh Circuit, 1987)
United States v. Patrick C. Richerson
833 F.2d 1147 (Fifth Circuit, 1987)
United States v. Jerry M. Matt
838 F.2d 1356 (Fifth Circuit, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
695 F. Supp. 288, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10696, 1988 WL 97802, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-means-mssd-1988.