United States v. Thomas William Sullivan

Appellant was indicted, tried and convicted in a jury trial on six counts of knowingly furnishing false information in connection with the purchase of firearms in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (a)(6). His only defense was insanity.

On appellant’s first appeal, United States v. Sullivan, 544 F.2d 1052 (CA9 1976), we reversed on the ground that the court committed error in refusing to give the jury a proper definition of the word “wrongfulness” as applied to appellant’s claim of insanity. On the retrial, the court rectified this error and correctly instructed the jury. The appellant’s sole contention is that the government did not meet its burden on the issue of insanity. We affirm.

On appeal it is our duty to determine whether the evidence considered most favorably to the government was such as to permit a rational conclusion by the jury that the accused was sane beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Monroe, 552 F.2d 860, 864 (CA9 1977). This standard of review extends to the issues of sanity and the credibility of the experts. These issues are to be determined by the jury and not by the court. United States v. Schmidt, 572 F.2d 206, 208 (CA9 1978).

In United States v.…