United States v. Fred Davis

Appellant Davis, in two consolidated cases, was convicted by a jury of seven counts of securities fraud (15 U.S.C. § '77q (a)), five counts of mail fraud ( 18 U.S.C. § 1341 ) and one count of conspiracy ( 18 U.S.C. § 371 ). This appeal challenges the admissibility and weight of the evidence and asserts several procedural errors. We affirm.

Davis makes five contentions of error. (1) The court erred in refusing to grant him a separate trial from co-defendant Carl Harrison, Jr.; and that Harrison’s statement to an S.E.C. investigator was erroneously received in evidence in violation of the holding in Bruton v. United States (1968), 391 U.S. 123 , 88 S.Ct. 1620 , 20 L.Ed.2d 476 . (2) The court erred in reading the information to the jury after Davis had moved to strike passages of it as prejudicial. (3) The evidence was inadequate to support the verdicts and to show the specific criminal intent required for conviction. (4) The court should have granted the motion for acquittal. (5) The court should have granted the motion for new trial. Davis’ briefs do not separately support the last two contentions. We treat them as standing or falling with the more specific allegations of…