United States v. Richard B. Sanders

Sanders was convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 495 (1976), for uttering a United States Treasury check, knowing that it was falsely endorsed. He appeals, contending: (1) that his second trial was barred by the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment; (2) that he was denied due process because the district court would neither allow him to call a specific witness nor declare her unavailable so that her prior recorded testimony could be read into the record; and (3) that the court erred in admitting testimony of threats allegedly made by Sanders to a prosecution witness.

Because we conclude that the conviction must be reversed on double jeopardy grounds, we do not reach the remaining issues.

FACTS

A jury was empaneled and sworn for Sanders’ trial on May 1, 1978. Testimony was first taken on May 5. Three government witnesses testified that an unendorsed treasury check payable to Danny Hope disappeared from Hope’s truck in Hardin, Montana; that Sanders was in Hardin at about that time; and that Sanders was photographed while cashing Hope’s falsely endorsed check. The fourth prosecution witness, Rowena Standing Alone, testified that Sanders came to her home with the cheek and that…