Opinion ID: 490949
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Attempt or Mere Preparations?

Text: 6 Ramirez argues that the government's evidence shows only preparations to rob the Wells Fargo truck, and not an attempt to commit robbery in violation of the Hobbs Act. He did not attempt the heist because he knew he would be caught. In his view, an attempt to rob a Wells Fargo truck requires something more than planning the robbery and then arriving armed in a stolen getaway car. 7 We discussed the requirements of attempt in United States v. Rivera Sola, 713 F.2d 866 (1st Cir.1983) as follows: 8 When considering an attempt case, the federal courts have rather uniformly adopted the standard found in Section 5.01 of the American Law Institute's Model Penal Code (Proposed Official Draft 1962). This standard provides that the requisite elements of attempt are (1) an intent to engage in criminal conduct; and (2) conduct constituting a substantial step towards the commission of the substantive offense which strongly corroborates the defendant's criminal intent. 9 Id. at 869 (emphasis added). The government's evidence supports both requirements of the Model Penal Code standard. Ramirez admitted an intent to rob the truck. And the group's conduct, in casing the bank, stealing a car, and arriving armed at the bank shortly before the Wells Fargo truck was to arrive, constituted a substantial step toward the robbery that demonstrated that this intent was no idle whim. See United States v. Stallworth, 543 F.2d 1038, 1041 (2d Cir.1976) ([a]ll that stood between appellants and success [in a bank robbery] was a group of F.B.I. agents and police officers). 10 Appellant also objects to the jury instruction on attempt and to certain evidence of the attempt, namely the testimony of an F.B.I. agent and the admission of the agent's transcription of Ramirez' post arrest statement (the form 302). These objections are without merit. The jury instruction is almost exactly what Ramirez requested and a correct statement of the law in any case. See United States v. Rivera Sola, supra. Appellant's objection to the agent's testimony is an undisguised attack on his credibility; that credibility was for the jury to determine. Appellant attempted to impeach the agent by making an issue of the difference between the form 302 and the agent's testimony at trial. Defense counsel cross examined the agent at great length and went into considerable detail regarding the contents of the form 302. On redirect the government introduced the form to rehabilitate the witness. A trial judge has great discretion in permitting rehabilitation evidence after impeachment. See 3 Weinstein's Evidence p 607 at 607-92 (1985). The form 302 did not contain any new information; admitting it simply allowed the jury to judge for themselves the significance of the alleged discrepancies. That evidentiary ruling was not an abuse of discretion.