UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, APPELLEE,
v.
LAWRENCE KEITH MEYERS, APPELLANT

9th Cir. | 1971-06-04
No. 26711
443 F.2d 913 United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1971) Positive Treatment
Cited by 9 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.


Holding

The court held that the conviction for receipt and retention of stolen government property was valid, affirming the lower court's decision.


Facts & Procedural History

Lawrence K. Meyers was convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 641 after a jury trial. The stolen item was a calculator, and Meyers appealed his conviction…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM:

PER CURIAM:

Lawrence K. Meyers appeals from his conviction, after a jury trial, of violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641 (receipt and retention of stolen government property). The evidence established that the stolen item was a Model SW-10 Friden calculator. The appellant first contends that the search in which the calculator was found was unconstitutional. This contention is based upon his assertion that there was no cause for his arrest and detention and, hence, no justification for the ensuing warrantless search. However, there is evidence that the appellant consented to this search. Consent is a factual question. If the statements of the police officer who conducted the search are accepted, which they presumably were, there is ample support in the record for a finding of consent.

The appellant next asserts that the government failed to prove that the stolen calculator was worth more than $100 at the date of the crime. The only evidence of value was that the original cost price of the calculator, more than eleven years prior to the crime, was $768.50. 18 U.S.C. § 641 permits proof of value in this manner. Fulks v. United States, 283 F. 2d 259 (9th Cir.1960). The government, therefore, has established the value of the calculator by proof sanctioned in the statute. Such proof must be deemed sufficient in the absence of other evidence showing a value less than $100.

Finally, the appellant argues that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense. In light of the appellant’s failure to request such an instruction, the omission must be considered a matter of trial strategy and not error. The jury was instructed to find the defendant not guilty if it determined that the calculator was worth less than $100. The defendant elected to seek acquittal rather than to invite conviction of the lesser offense.

The conviction is affirmed.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw