United States v. Johnny Erroll Johnson

Johnson appeals from his conviction for violations of 21 U.S.C. § 174 . He makes five contentions on appeal: The district court erred in denying his motion to suppress heroin seized during a body cavity search of his accomplice Lewis; (2) the uncorroborated testimony of Lewis was insufficient to sustain his conviction; (3) there was plain error in permitting a lawyer, who had pre viously represented Johnson, to represent Lewis; (4) trial counsel’s failure to call certain witnesses who might have testified on his behalf was plain error; and (5) there was plain error in the district court’s failure to order a medical examination of Johnson to determine whether or not he was competent to stand trial.

Johnson did not have standing to challenge the legality of the search of Lewis’ body cavity, and the district court correctly rejected his motion to suppress. (Diaz-Rosendo v. United States (9th Cir. en banc 1966) 357 F.2d 124 , cert, denied, 385 U.S. 856 , 87 S.Ct. 104 , 17 L.Ed.2d 83 .)

The rule of this Circuit is that a conviction can be based upon the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice. (E. g., Suhl v. United States (9th Cir. 1968) 390 F.2d 547 , cert, denied, 391 U.S. 964 ,…