Vaughn Cecil Cowell v. United States

Appellant, a longshoreman, was convicted on a trial by jury of stealing property in Interstate Commerce of a value of less than $100, namely a bottle of Vodka. According to the testimony of one Linden, appellant, while engaged in unloading a vessel, took a bottle of Vodka from one of the eases being unloaded, and brought it to Linden, who according to witnesses attempted to hide it.

On appeal appellant urges two points:

First: The court instructed the jury that evidence of an accomplice “ * * * should be considered with caution and weighed with great care * * * the testimony of an accomplice alone, if believed by you, may be of sufficient weight to sustain the verdict of guilty even though not corroborated or supported by other evidence, but I instruct you that before you find a verdict of guilty on the unsupported evidence of an accomplice, you must believe that evidence beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty. In other words, his testimony alone must establish the guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty.”

Appellant objected to this instruction on the ground that the court should have advised the jury that a verdict can not be based on the…