Ziegler v. United States

174 F.2d 439
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedJune 9, 1949
Docket11555
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 174 F.2d 439 (Ziegler 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
Ziegler v. United States, 174 F.2d 439 (9th Cir. 1949).

Opinion

MATHEWS, Circuit Judge.

On December 21, 1946, an information was filed against appellant (Paul J. Ziegler) and the West Coast Supply Company. The information was based on paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of § 2 of the Act of June 28, 1940, c. 440, as amended by § 301 of the Second War Powers Act, 1942, 50 U.S.C.A. Appendix, §§ 633 and 1152; 1 § 2.9 of General Ration Order No. 8, 8 F.R. 3783, issued under subsection (a) on March *441 25, 1943 ;* 2 and paragraph (d) of § 15.7 of Third Revised Ration Order No. 3, 11 F.R. 134, issued under subsection (a) on December 29, 1945. 3

The information was in eight counts. Count 1 alleged: “On or about July 1, 1946, in Los Angeles County, California, within the Central Division of the Southern District of California, defendants, West Coast Supply Company, a partnership, and [appellant], willfully and unlawfully performed acts prohibited by section 15.7(d) of Third Revised Ration Order No. 3, in that said defendants did willfully and unlawfully issue and cause to be issued a sugar ration check for an amount larger than the balance in the account on which it was drawn, less the amount of outstanding checks drawn on that account, by issuing and causing to be issued to the Union Sugar Company a sugar ration check drawn by and on behalf of the said West Coast Supply Company and [appellant] in the amount of six hundred thousand (600,-000) pounds of sugar, on the Union Bank and Trust Company of Los Angeles, when the West Coast Supply Company had a balance in its accounts at said bank in an amount insufficient to cover the amount of said check.”

Count 2 alleged: “From on or about July 3, 1946, to on or about August 17, 1946, in Los Angeles County, California, within the Central Division of the Southern District of California, defendants, West Coast Supply Company, a partnership, and [appellant], willfully and unlawfully performed an act prohibited by section 2.9 of General Ration Order No. 8, in that said defendants did willfully and unlawfully receive a rationed commodity, three hundred and eighty thousand (380,000) pounds of sugar from the Union Sugar Company, in exchange for a ration document, to wit, a sugar ration check drawn by and on behalf of the said West Coast Supply Company and [appellant] in the amount of six hundred thousand (600,000) pounds of sugar, on the Union Bank and Trust Company of Los Angeles, dated July 1, 1946, and issued by the defendants, 4 when said defendants knew and had reason to believe that the said ration document was not validly issued because the said West Coast Supply Company did not have a sugar ration bank account in said bank with a balance therein sufficient to cover the amount of said check.”

Counts 3, 5 and 7 were similar to count 1, except that count 3 related to a check issued to Spreckels Sugar Company for 30,-000 pounds of sugar; count 5 related to a check issued to Holly Sugar Company for 660,000 pounds of sugar; and count 7 related to a check issued to C & H Sugar Company for 80,000 pounds of sugar.

Counts 4, 6 and 8 were similar to count 2, except that count 4 related to 30,000 pounds of sugar received from Spreckels Sugar Company on or about July 2, 1946, in exchange for the check mentioned in count 3; count 6 related to 660,000 pounds of sugar received from Holly Sugar Company from about July 1, 1946, to about August 30, 1946, in exchange for the check mentioned in count 5; and count 8 related to 80,000 pounds of sugar received from C & H Sugar Company on or about July 5, 1946, in exchange for the check mentioned in count 7.

Appellant was arraigned, pleaded not guilty to each count of the information, was tried, convicted and sentenced on each count and has appealed.

Thirteen alleged errors are specified. Specifications 1 and 2 are that the court erred in admitting evidence. Specification 5 is that the court erred in rejecting evidence. Specifications 1, 2 and 5 do not, as required by our Rule 20, 5 “quote *442 the grounds urged at the trial for the objection and the full substance of the evidence admitted or rejected, and refer to the page number in the printed or typewritten transcript where the same may be found.” Hence we are not required to consider specifications 1, 2 and 5. 6 However, we have considered them and find no merit in them.

Specification 3 is that the court erred in denying a motion made by appellant for a judgment of acquittal. The motion was on three grounds. Ground 1 was that the information did not state an offense. This ground is not urged here and hence need not be considered by us. 7 However, we have considered it and find no merit in it.

Ground 2 was that there was “a complete variance of the proof with the allegations of each and every count of the information.” Ground 3 was that the evidence was “wholly insufficient to support a verdict of guilty on any of the eight counts of the information.” In substance, grounds 2 and 3 were one ground, namely, that the evidence did not warrant appellant’s conviction on any of the counts. There was evidence to the following effect:

At all pertinent times, appellant and his father (John H. Ziegler) and brothers (Allen S. Ziegler and Raymond M. Ziegler) were partners doing business in Los Angeles, California, under the name West Coast Supply Company. Under that name, appellant and his father and brothers had three sugar ration bank accounts, all of which were carried by Union Bank & Trust Company of Los Angeles, hereafter called Union Bank. To distinguish the three accounts from each other, one was called the West Coast Supply Company wholesale account, one was called the West Coast Supply Company processing account, and one was called the West Coast Supply Company industrial account. On July lr 1946, the balances in these accounts were as follows: In the wholesale account 43,-196 pounds of sugar; in the processing: account, 6,832 pounds of sugar; in the industrial account, 4,689 pounds of sugar.

On July 1, 1946, in Los Angeles, appellant issued four sugar ration checks, drawn by him on the West Coast Supply Company wholesale account, as follows: To Union Sugar Company, check 144 (exhibit 6) for 600.000 pounds of sugar; to Spreckels-Sugar Company, check 145 (exhibit 5) for 30.000 pounds of sugar; to Holly Sugar Company, check 146 (exhibit 4) for 660,-000 pounds of sugar; to C & H Sugar Company, check 148 (exhibit 3) for 80,000 pounds of sugar. Check 144 was issued first and was outstanding when checks 145, 146 and 148 were issued. Each of the four checks was issued for an amount larger than the balance in the account on which it was drawn less the amount of outstanding checks drawn on that account. Appellant knew this when he issued the four checks mentioned above. Therefore he knew or had reason to believe that each of them was invalidly issued.

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

Related

Ronald Bradford Waller v. State
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2000
State v. Zwillman
270 A.2d 284 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1970)
United States v. Guajardo-Melendez
401 F.2d 35 (Seventh Circuit, 1968)
People v. Ing
422 P.2d 590 (California Supreme Court, 1967)
People v. Perez
422 P.2d 597 (California Supreme Court, 1967)
State v. Taylor
407 P.2d 59 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1965)
United States v. Harold Judson
322 F.2d 460 (Ninth Circuit, 1963)
Clarence Derose v. United States
315 F.2d 482 (Ninth Circuit, 1963)
Leon Dedley Noah v. United States
304 F.2d 317 (Ninth Circuit, 1962)
Berry Anderson Dyson v. United States
283 F.2d 636 (Ninth Circuit, 1960)
Thomas Ambrose v. United States
280 F.2d 766 (Ninth Circuit, 1960)
George Naval v. United States
278 F.2d 611 (Ninth Circuit, 1960)
United States v. Raymond A. O'COnnOr
273 F.2d 358 (Second Circuit, 1959)
United States v. DeBell
11 C.M.A. 45 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1959)
William Daniel Straight v. United States
263 F.2d 811 (Ninth Circuit, 1959)
Samuel C. Brody v. United States
243 F.2d 378 (First Circuit, 1957)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
174 F.2d 439, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ziegler-v-united-states-ca9-1949.