United States v. Zack Vance Sims

This appeal is from appellant’s jury conviction on six counts of violating 18 U.S.C. § 495 , by uttering forged United States Treasury checks. Appellant makes only one assignment of error. We affirm.

FACTS

At the time of the conduct in question, appellant was self-employed as a tax preparer in Los Angeles. Between November, 1971, and November, 1972, he arranged to have the United States Treasury mail a number of his clients’ tax refund checks directly to him. Testimony at trial showed that none of these six named clients ever received their checks, nor did they authorize appellant to negotiate them. Appellant signed the payees’ names, added his own secondary endorsement, and negotiated the checks at a Los Angeles liquor store.

In his defense, appellant testified that the payees had each authorized his negotiation of their checks, an assertion which was directly refuted by testimony at trial. Appellant also claimed he had been legally insane at the time of his acts. Specifically, appellant’s insanity defense was based on his alleged religious fanaticism. He attempted to prove that his conduct had been governed by a sincere belief that he had divine guidance and that…