UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James E. KESSI, Defendant-Appellant

Kessi appeals his conviction for participating in a securities fraud scheme. Kessi, a commodities broker, executed trades' in several commodities accounts in which the investment decisions were made by Henry March, who at the time was a fugitive from justice. March and his associate, Douglas Fisher, induced investors to enter profit-sharing agreements which were guaranteed to yield returns. March then diverted part of the investors’ money for his personal use and passed the rest to Kessi for trading. For his role in this scheme, a jury convicted Kessi of aiding and abetting mail fraud ( 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 , 1341), aiding and abetting securities fraud (15 U.S.C. §§ 77q(a), 77x; 18 U.S.C. § 2 ), and being an accessory after the fact ( 18 U.S.C. § 3 ). Kessi appeals his conviction, challenging the jury instructions, the sufficiency of evidence, the conduct of the prosecutor, and the admission of certain testimony by a psychiatric expert. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I

Kessi’s association with March began in July 1981, when March became a commodities client of Kessi’s at the brokerage firm of Smith Barney in the Seattle, Washington area. In February 1982,…