Court Opinion

ID: 9455146
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 19:12:29.657157+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:34:28.560208
License: Public Domain

CUMMINGS, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
As the majority states, defendant was found by the jury to be guilty “of falsely *1024pretending to be an F.B.I. agent and, in such pretended character, demanding a 1961 Oldsmobile from one Moore, as charged in the indictment.” This finding of the jury depended upon the following instruction No. 13 as given by the court:
“Three essential elements are required to be proved in order to establish the offense charged in Count I of the Indictment:
“First: The act or acts of falsely pretending to be an officer or employee acting under the authority of the United States;
“Second: Demanding or obtaining money or some other thing of value while acting in such pretended character ; and
“Third: Doing such act or acts wilfully and with the intent to deceive or defraud another.
“As stated before, the burden is upon the prosecution to prove beyond all reasonable doubt every essential element of the crime charged.”
Defendant did not object to this instruction, which is Mathes Instruction 16.05 (27 F.R.D. 39, 132). Defendant’s brief concedes that 18 U.S.C. § 912 (note 1, supra), requires intent to the extent that the Government must prove “he deliberately committed the physical act he was accused of committing.” Moreover, the majority apparently agrees that some “kind of intent [is] required” (note 4, supra).
When defendant’s trial counsel first objected to any testimony of Lowell Goethceus that defendant had committed a prior similar offense, the Assistant United States Attorney explained that he planned to use the witness “for purposes of proving wilfullness and criminal intent.” The district court thereupon overruled the defendant’s objection.
As shown by the above-quoted instruction, this case was tried on the theory that the Government had to show defendant acted “wilfully and with the intent to deceive or defraud another.” Moore and his employer testified that defendant flashed a card in a small black folder and said that he was from the F.B.I. Both witnesses stated that they took his word for this. Defendant testified that he did repossess Moore’s car but denied that he had represented that he was authorized to do so by the F.B.I. He stated that he did show the witnesses a card from the Trans-National Investigation Bureau and volunteered that this might be misunderstood as the F.B.I. Defense counsel explained to the court that he had deliberately let the two prosecution witnesses introduce the question of defendant’s intent because he planned to elicit testimony (which was subsequently excluded on the Government’s objection) from a former Assistant United States Attorney that his investigation of the earlier indictment, involving Goethceus, showed that there was no intent to deceive on the part of defendant. Defense counsel asked this witness “From your entire file, your entire investigation, did your file reflect an intent or no intent * * * on the part of Mr. Fierson?” Accordingly, the prosecutor’s closing argument advised the jury that the Government had to prove defendant “did such acts wilfully and with intent to deceive or defraud another person,” and that the evidence showed defendant’s “intent to deceive somebody into thinking he’s a policeman or an FBI Agent.”
Unlike United States v. Menk, 406 F. 2d 124, 126 (7th Cir. 1968), without objection intent was treated as an element of the offense charged. Therefore the district judge was justified in permitting Goethceus to testify as to defendant’s previous impersonation. II Wigmore on Evidence (3d ed.) §§ 302, 321. Rule 4-04(b) of the Proposed Rules of Evidence for the United States District Courts and Magistrates (Preliminary Draft, March 1969) accords with present case law in making such an exception. It is for the district judge to decide “whether the danger of undue prejudice outweighs the probative value of the evidence” (ibid., p. 58), and defendant has not shown that the trial judge abused *1025his discretion in permitting the jury to consider this evidence. This is especially so here where defendant was permitted to show that the previous indictment against him and involving Goethceus had been dismissed by the United States and the court instructed the jury to consider defendant’s prior act for the sole purpose of determining the intent of the defendant. Moreover, Goethceus’ testimony on direct examination occupies only two pages of the transcript and indicated no animadversion toward defendant. The prosecutor’s closing argument did not dwell unduly on this testimony. Although I recognize that the intent exception to the past crime rule can sometimes be used to excess by the Government, no abuse has been shown in this case.
Concluding that the majority opinion conflicts with our recent decision in United States v. Marine, 413 F.2d 214 (7th Cir. 1969),* and with Whaley v. United States, 324 F.2d 356, 358 (9th Cir. 1963), certiorari denied, 356 U.S. 911, 84 S.Ct. 665, 11 L.Ed.2d 609, I would affirm.

 The majority opinion distinguishes the Marine case on the ground that there the defendant disputed the issue of knowledge (note 7, supra) but here defense counsel questioned defendant’s intent. Moreover, the actual holding in Marine was that the Government wag entitled to introduce evidence of defendant’s prior fraudulent transactions because proof of intent to defraud was an essential element of the offense.