United States v. Morris Phillips and James Beasley

577 F.2d 495 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Morris PHILLIPS and James Beasley, Defendants-Appellants. Nos. 77-1283, 77-1428. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. May 11, 1978. Rehearing Denied June 8, 1978. Jerrold M. Ladar, of San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellants. Edmund D. Lyons, Sp. Atty., Dept. of Justice, San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court, Northern District of California. Before CARTER and TRASK, Circuit Judges, and BURNS, * District Judge. JAMES M. CARTER, Circuit Judge: 1 This is a joint appeal by Morris Phillips and James Beasley, who were convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion, in violation of the Hobbs Act ( 18 U.S.C. § 1951 ) (Count I), and of attempting to commit extortion, also in violation of the Hobbs Act (Count II). Phillips was sentenced to concurrent three-year terms and fined $10,000.00. Beasley was sentenced to concurrent five-year terms. ISSUES 2 Appellants raise on appeal the following issues: 3 (1) Both appellants question whether their conduct falls within the ambit of the Hobbs Act; Phillips contends: 4 (2) That the indictment improperly alleged the same…