United States v. Robert C. Morrison

Robert C. Morrison, convicted of misappropriating less than $100 in postal funds, a misdemeanor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1711 , objects: (1) that the complaint was defective in not alleging a mens rea; (2) that the evidence was insufficient to convict; and (3) that there was a fatal variance between an allegation and the proof.

Morrison was a postal employee in Las Vegas. His cash drawer at one time was short about $250.00. The shortage, under postal regulations, was fully deductible from his pay. Postal regulations also provide that any “overage” in an employee’s cash drawer could be used to offset a prior shortage. The government’s theory is that Morrison illegally enhanced his offset by misappropriating postal funds.

On July 12, 1974, an agent of the Secret Service handed Morrison a valid but blank money order and told him that he had found it. Morrison wrote his own name as payee, endorsed the money order, and placed it in his cash drawer. This transaction, creating an overage of $40.00 in his favor, reduced his shortage by that amount.

A United States Magistrate tried Morrison. After the magistrate denied Morrison’s motion for acquittal, Morrison rested, preserving his…