United States v. John J. Von Moos

John Von Moos committed perjury during the course of his trial for bank robbery. The district judge stated that in sentencing Von Moos on the bank robbery conviction he took Von Moos’s perjury into consideration in two ways: “One way on his credibility as he testified at the imposition of sentence; and the other is at the time I imposed the sentence I considered it in evaluating what the sentence should have been.”

Later Von Moos was indicted for the perjury. He pleaded guilty and came on for sentencing before the district judge. The district judge entered an order stating as follows:

At time of sentencing the defendant in the bank robbery case this Court specifically considered the defendant’s perjury committed at said trial, with the effect that his sentence on the bank robbery was greater than it would have been had the perjury not been considered. In view of this finding:

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this Court is without legal authority to enter any sentence against the defendant for the present perjury charge to which he has pleaded guilty, in that to do so would constitute double punishment of said defendant on the account of his perjury.

On the basis of this order the…