United States v. Stephanie K. Stearns

Stephanie Stearns was convicted, after a jury trial, on two counts of theft of personal property within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, violations of 18 U.S.C. § 661 , and on one count of transporting stolen property in interstate and foreign commerce, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2314 . On appeal she contends that the district court erred both in admitting certain photographs and in denying a motion to consolidate the three counts. We affirm.

The principal question on this appeal is whether the prosecution established a sufficient foundation for the admission at trial of an exhibit consisting of five photographs. To understand the significance of these photographs and the foundation problems they present, we must recount the voyages of two sailing vessels, the Iola and the Sea Wind, and describe their encounter at Palmyra, an uninhabited island in the Pacific about one thousand miles south of Hawaii.

The Iola, a 30-foot vessel, arrived in Palmyra harbor from Hawaii on June 25 or 26, 1974. The channel leading into the lagoon on Palmyra is narrow and difficult to navigate. The Iola, which had a broken motor, had to be towed through the…