United States v. William Freeman Snow

Bill Snow was convicted by a jury for having knowingly possessed an unregistered firearm, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (d) and § 5871. To support its contention that the weapon was knowingly possessed by Bill Snow, the government, after establishing what the trial court regarded as a proper foundation, was permitted to introduce into evidence the brief case in which the gun was found. Affixed to the brief case was a red tape with the lettering “Tri. Tron. Electronics” and “Bill Snow.” Snow assigns as error the admission into evidence of the tag bearing his name on the grounds that it constitutes inadmissible hearsay. We hold that the tag was not inadmissible hearsay. It was circumstantial evidence properly admitted. We affirm the conviction.

We shall not attempt to summarize the evidence introduced by the prosecution to establish the elements of the offense and to lay a proper foundation for the introduction of the brief case and the red tape affixed thereto. We have read the transcript of the trial and it is enough for present purposes to point out that the evidence tended to show that the case with the affixed red tape was found on premises frequently visited by…