United States v. James Paul Grattan

Grattan was charged in an indictment which reads, in pertinent part:

He was convicted by a jury and was sentenced to 30 months. We reverse.

Stated in the light most favorable to the government, the facts are these:

On February 17, 1977, Grattan was sentenced to two concurrent ten-year terms following federal convictions in Tucson on drug charges. He appealed to this court. In late July, 1977, he was released on a $50,000 appeal bond pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3148 and 18 U.S.C. § 3146 (a). The terms of the bond did not require Grattan to reside within the district, did not place any restrictions on where Grattan might live or travel, and did not require him to notify the court or anyone else of any change of address or travel plans, or to keep in touch with anyone. As Judge Chambers said of such a bond, “[b]y its terms no obligation to appear was imposed on [Grattan] until this Court of Appeals was through with the case.” United States v. Brizuela, 9 Cir., 1974, 508 F.2d 386, 387 .

One Gerald Griffin had posted his Ramona, California ranch as collateral for Grattan’s appeal bond. Griffin had expected that Grattan would in return loan him $85,-000. The bond was signed by Grattan…