United States v. John Anthony Green

John Anthony Green appeals his conviction of knowingly making photographs of United States currency in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 474 (1988). He contends: (1) the indictment failed to allege essential elements of the crime; (2) the government wrongly interfered with defense counsel’s pretrial investigation; (3) the trial court failed to suppress unlawfully seized evidence; (4) the court failed to properly instruct the jury on the elements of the crime; and (5) the trial court erroneously gave a supplemental instruction after learning the jury’s numerical division. He also challenges his sentence, contending that the trial court erred by increasing his base offense level for the use of a “special skill” in committing the crime. We affirm the conviction, vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

The investigation leading to Green’s arrest and conviction commenced on November 29, 1989 when Secret Service agents responded to a call from an employee at Zellerbach Paper Company in Los Angeles. The employee reported that an individual ordered a special type of paper frequently used by counterfeiters, had no account with the company, seemed unfamiliar…