United States v. Robert Fox, United States of America v. Bertram C. Morris

Fox and Morris were tried jointly on counts of kidnapping ( 18 U.S.C. § 1201 ) and violation of the Mann Act (18 U.S. C. § 2421). A jury found them not guilty of the former and guilty of the latter. Both appeal their convictions to this court. We affirm.

I

THE FACTS

We view the facts, as we must, in a light most favorable to the Government. The case against Fox and Morris was based largely on the testimony of Mrs. Juanita McDonald. Mrs. McDonald testified that Fox and Morris enticed her into Fox’s ear in Portland, Oregon. Fox allowed Mrs. McDonald to drive the car but refused her requests to let her go home. Fox then told Mrs. McDonald to drive them to the motel where Fox and Morris were staying. In the motel parking lot, Mrs. McDonald hit a parked vehicle damaging Fox’s car. When Mrs. McDonald attempted to leave, Fox knocked her down and with Morris’ help put her back in the car. Fox spoke angrily of the damage to his car and emphasized that Mrs. McDonald would have to pay for it. Morris suggested that Fox “ought to tie [her] up and teach [her] how to be a qualified prostitute.” Fox and Morris then drove to a secluded spot where Fox raped Mrs. McDonald. Fox refused Morris’…