Kenneth Richard Peterson v. United States

Following jury trial appellant was convicted of the crime of conspiring to steal Government property. In an earlier trial the jury had failed to agree upon a verdict. The sole error here assigned is the District Court’s refusal to provide appellant, at Government expense, with a transcript of the proceedings upon the first trial.

Appellant as an indigent had proceeded from the outset with court-appointed counsel. After the conclusion of the first trial new counsel was substituted, who promptly moved the court for an order directing the United States to furnish the defendant with a transcript of the first trial at Government expense. The Government resisted the motion, and it was denied. When the case was called for trial, defense counsel renewed his motion and again it was denied.

Appellant and his codefendant were charged with conspiring to steal an aircraft battery from Nellis Air Force Base, located near Las Vegas, Nevada. The defendants were civilians who had no access to the Base. The Government’s case was founded on the testimony of one Hamilton, a member of the Air Force personnel stationed at the Base. He testified that he had been approached by the defendants, had…