John Glenn Dipple v. United States

This is an appeal from the conviction of the appellant, John Glenn Dipple, for transporting a stolen motor vehicle in interstate commerce in violation of Section 2312 of Title 18, U.S.C.A.

Appellant specifies as error the court’s instructions on (1) impeachment, (2) the essential elements of the offense charged, and (3) the issue of criminal intent.

Appellant contends the court instructed the jury that appellant was impeached by his prior felony convictions and implied that his testimony was not credible or entitled to any weight.

The court in its instruction actually stated that a witness may be discredited or impeached by evidence that he had been convicted of a felony, and if the jury believed any witness had been impeached and thus discredited, it was the jury’s exclusive province to give the testimony of that witness such credibility, if any, as they may think it entitled. (Emphasis supplied).

This court has held under similar circumstances that the giving of this instruction was not plain error. Scott v. United States, 335 F.2d 214, 216 (9th Cir. 1964).

Once evidence of this nature is before the jury, it becomes the jury’s function to determine what weight, if any, it…