Clarence O. Rivers v. United States

Appellant, twice previously convicted of Dyer Act violations, left the Los Angeles County Jail on September 24, 1965, between 7:00 and 8:00 a. m., after serving thirty days for drunk driving. He sold a pint of blood for $4.00, and by 9:00 or 9:30 a. m. bought wine, vodka and Seven-Up which he proceeded to consume, but ate nothing for breakfast. He allegedly remembers nothing else.

At about 12:50 p. m., on September 24th, 1965, appellant stepped into a motor vehicle, i. e., a truck owned by Los Angeles-Seattle Motor Express, with the motor running, standing outside the premises of Zipp Extract Company in Los Angeles. The truck was slowly driven away by appellant. The truck contained goods in interstate shipment. ( 18 U.S.C. § 659 .)

The truck driver, who had been telephoning, chased his truck on foot, caught up to it, opened the door, grabbed the steering wheel and turned the wheels into the curb. The appellant struck the truck driver and attempted to push him out of the cab. The appellant was pulled out of the truck and physically held on the sidewalk until police arrived. Appellant’s defense was that he was drunk.

There was no question but that appellant had been drinking.…