Carl Calvin Westover v. United States

On March 11, 1965, we affirmed the conviction of Westover for robbery (two counts) of a federally insured savings and loan office and a branch of a national bank, also federally insured. Both rob beries occurred in Sacramento, California early in March, 1963. Westover v. United States, 9 Cir., 342 F.2d 684, 1965 . A reversal followed in the slipstream of Miranda v. State of Arizona. See Westover v. United States, 384 U.S. 436, 494 , 86 S.Ct. 1602 , 16 L.Ed.2d 694 .

The reversal came about because of the admission of two confessions taken in the city of Kansas City, Mo., jail by officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The principal reason for reversal seems to be that there were some hours of interrogation by state officers and that there was no showing that during the state investigation there was any advice given to Westover of his rights. Although West-over has been retried and reconvicted, we still know very little of what went on at the state interrogation. One may guess, but only guess, that the Kansas City police were questioning him about two Kansas City robberies.

The record of both the first trial and of the second trial are just not very good on the evidence…