Burley James King v. United States

Burley James King appeals from his conviction, after trial to the court without a jury, of aiding and abetting in the robbery, by force and violence, of the Vermont-30th Street, Los Angeles branch of the Bank of America, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a).

It is an essential element of an offense under section 2113(a) that the institution robbed be a “bank, or any savings and loan association.” The indictment alleged that the institution here in question is a bank. The term “bank” as used in section 2113(a), is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (f), to include (1) any member bank of the Federal Reserve System, (2) any bank operating under the laws of the United States, and (3) any bank the deposits of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. See Schoepflin v. United States, 391 F.2d 390, 396, note 5 (9th Cir. 1968).

The indictment alleged that the Vermont-30th Street branch of the Bank of America is a “bank” under all three of these criteria. However, at the trial the Government failed to prove that this branch met any of these criteria. At the close of the Government’s case defendant moved for judgment of acquittal but did not call specific attention to the…