United States v. Daniel Jackson Talbert

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent.

I am convinced that no rational trier of fact could have found Talbert guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on the evidence adduced at his trial. The only significant evidence produced against Talbert was his thumbprint on the bowling pin. The principle is universally established, however, that convictions obtained through fingerprint evidence will be upheld only if the Government produced either evidence that the print could have been impressed only during the commission of the offense, 1 or separate *532 evidence of guilt. 2 Contrary to the majority’s assertions, neither of these corroborative circumstances are apparent in the record before us.

First, the Government failed to establish that Talbert’s print was impressed during the commission of the crime. There was no evidence tending to show that Talbert lacked prior access to the bowling pin. Compare Borum, 380 F.2d at 597, with Stevenson v. United States, 380 F.2d 590, 594 (D.C.Cir.1967). To the contrary, there was undisputed evidence that Talbert had prior access. Moreover, there was no affirmative evidence tending to show that Talbert actually touched the pin at the time of the offense:…

710 F.2d 528 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Daniel Jackson TALBERT, Defendant-Appellant. No. 81-1582. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted May 3, 1982. Decided July 12, 1983. Julia Barash, Asst. U.S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee. Richard D. Burda, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendant-appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before ELY, SCHROEDER, and NORRIS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: 1 Talbert appeals from his conviction of first degree murder after a jury trial. Talbert's principal claim on appeal is that the evidence produced against him at trial was insufficient to sustain his conviction. Because we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's verdict of guilt, the conviction must be affirmed. FACTS A. Background 2 On August 4, 1980, the body of Paul Nornes was discovered in an abandoned bowling alley on the grounds of the Brentwood Veterans Administration Psychiatric Hospital in Los Angeles, California. The coroner determined that Nornes had died from severe head injuries apparently inflicted during a beating. On April 21, 1981, Talbert…

Talbert appeals from his conviction of first degree murder after a jury trial. Tal-bert’s principal claim on appeal is that the evidence produced against him at trial was insufficient to sustain his conviction. Because we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict of guilt, the conviction must be affirmed.

FACTS

A. Background

On August 4, 1980, the body of Paul Nornes was discovered in an abandoned bowling alley on the grounds of the Brent-wood Veterans Administration Psychiatric Hospital in Los Angeles, California. The coroner determined that Nornes had died from severe head injuries apparently inflicted during a beating. On April 21,1981, Talbert was indicted for the murder of Nornes on a government reservation in violation of 18 U.S.C. § lili (1964). 1 After a five-day trial followed by five days of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. The district court denied both Tal-bert’s motion for judgment of acquittal made after conclusion of the government’s case, and his renewed motion for judgment of acquittal made after return of the verdict. On September 14, 1981, Talbert was sentenced to life imprisonment.

B. Relationship of Nornes…