Opinion ID: 761281
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Amending the Indictment

Text: 19 Neill argues that the district court erred in granting the government's motion to amend count two of the indictment after the case had been submitted to the jury. The sufficiency of an indictment is reviewed de novo. United States v. Henson, 123 F.3d 1226, 1235 (9th Cir.1997). The decision to grant a motion to amend the indictment is also reviewed de novo. See United States v. Lim, 984 F.2d 331, 337 (9th Cir.1993). 20 The essential purpose of an indictment is to give the defendant notice of the charge so that he can defend or plead his case adequately. United States v. James, 980 F.2d 1314, 1316 (9th Cir.1992). Generally, failure of an indictment to detail each element of the charged offense constitutes a fatal defect. Id. at 1316. However, a minor or technical deficiency in the indictment will not cause reversal of a conviction absent prejudice to the defendant. United States v. Normandeau, 800 F.2d 953, 958 (9th Cir.1986). Amendment of the indictment to fix typographical errors is appropriate as long as the error did not mislead the defendant. United States v. Lim, 984 F.2d 331, 337 (9th Cir.1993) (allowing the amendment of the citation of the charged crime). 21 In this case, both counts of the indictment charged Neill with bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C § 2113(a). Count one charged Neill with robbing the Wells Fargo Bank and alleged that the money was in the custody of the Wells Fargo Bank. Count two charged Neill with robbing the Bank of Salem. However, the indictment mistakenly alleged that the money was in the care, custody, control and management of the Wells Fargo Bank. The second count should have alleged that the money was in the control of the Bank of Salem. 22 This error went unrecognized by the government, Neill and his counsel, and the district court. The error was not discovered until the case had been submitted to the jury and the jury sent a written question to the district court asking if the Bank of Salem was owned by Wells Fargo. 23 Recognizing that amendment of indictments to correct typographical errors is permissible, Neill argues that in this case the amendment was prejudicial because it directly related to a material element of the charged offense. Neill's argument lacks merit. This court has previously allowed the amendment of an indictment even when the amendment related to an element of the offense charged. See James, 980 F.2d at 1318 (holding that the indictment was sufficient even though it did not allege that both the defendant and the victim were Indians); United States v. Coleman, 656 F.2d 509, 511 (9th Cir.1981) (holding that citation to 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) cured the failure of the indictment to allege that the bank robbed was federally insured). 24 Amending the indictment was not error in this case. Like Coleman, the indictment in this case cited the statute under which Neill was charged. Citing to § 2113(a) makes clear the crime with which Neill was charged. It also enabled Neill to make a plea and prepare a defense. Neill knew he was being charged with robbing two federally insured banks. He even stipulated to the fact that both banks were federally insured on the days in which the robberies occurred. The error in the indictment would have gone unrecognized by all parties but for the careful reading of the indictment by the jury. Because Neill was clearly not prejudiced by the error, we hold that the district court did not err in allowing the indictment to be amended.