Opinion ID: 2735596
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Plainness

Text: This court has made clear that a conviction in the absence of sufficient evidence constitutes error that is plain. Goode, 483 F.3d at 681. As the government notes, however, there is a complication in this case: any determination that the evidence in this case is insufficient turns entirely on a novel question of statutory interpretation. This court need not decide whether the plainness of a sufficiency-of-the-evidence error depends on the context in which that error arises; the error here is plain even if we focus our analysis solely on the interpretation of § 513(a). Normally, the plain error standard cannot be satisfied unless the claimed error is contrary to well-settled law, “that is, to the current law of the Supreme Court or the Tenth Circuit.” United States v. Wardell, 591 F.3d 1279, 1298 (10th 10 Griffin v. United States, 502 U.S. 46, 59 (1991). -17- Cir. 2009). The absence of such precedent will not, however, prevent the conclusion an error is plain when statutory language is clear and obvious. United States v. Ruiz-Gea, 340 F.3d 1181, 1187 (10th Cir. 2003). For those reasons set out above, this court concludes the plain language of § 513(a) makes clear a forged check is not “of” a depository bank during its possession or utterance. That being the case, the lack of evidence supporting all convictions (but Counts 13 and 20) is plain. Likewise, given Griffin was decided thirty-three years ago, the error as to Count 10 identified above is likewise plain.