United States v. William John Lukenbill

Lukenbill was convicted of causing his daughter to forge an endorsement on a government check at Spokane in the Northern Division of the Eastern District of Washington.

The material events in the case happened at Nine Mile (Route 1) and Seven Mile. But where? What state? What city? What county? What federal judicial division and what judicial district? No witnesses ever told the jury. Was this fatal?

The defendant at the close of the government case made a motion for a judgment of acquittal because of insufficiency of the evidence. The motion was renewed before the case went to the jury. Only after the guilty verdict was in did counsel disclose his precise point and that was on a motion for arrest of judgment and for other relief. (He may not have realized he had the point earlier.) Counsel shows that three of the twelve jurors were from some distance from the city of Spokane where the case was tried.

The trial judge on the motion for arrest of judgment held that from the totality of the circumstances there was enough evidence that the offense occurred at Spokane, Washington, as charged. We agree.

Standard references indicate an area called “Nine Mile” located about nine miles…