United States v. Sharon Ann Rahm

Sharon Ann Rahm appeals her conviction on charges of possession of counterfeit currency and of attempting to pass counterfeit currency, both in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 472 . We hold that the district court erred in excluding expert testimony proffered by Rahm, and reverse and remand.

I

On August 3, 1991, Rahm attempted to purchase a three-dollar box of tea from the Canton Bazaar in San Francisco using a counterfeit $100 bill. The manager of the store recognized the bill as counterfeit, and called the authorities. Although the manager told Rahm more than once that there were some problems with the $100 bill, she remained at the store for fifteen minutes or more, waiting for change or the return of the bill. Rahm had twenty-five dollars in genuine cash in her possession, but she never offered to take back the $100 bill and pay for the tea with this other money. The manager testified at trial that Rahm told him she had received the $100 bill from a bank a few days before.

Responding to the manager’s calls, two police officers arrived and arrested Rahm. On searching her purse, the officers recovered ninety-eight additional counterfeit $100 bills. After waiting several hours at the…

dissenting:

The evidence in this case was as follows: On the afternoon of Saturday, August 3, 1991, Sharon Rahm entered the Canton Bazaar, 616 Grant Avenue, San Francisco. She ordered a box of tea costing $2.99 and offered to pay for it with a $100 bill. The store manager, Jason Boon Cheok, who was standing by the cashier, told Rahm that he would need to get change and would need to check on the bill. He went to another part of the store where he called the Secret Service, having reached the conclusion that the bill was counterfeit. He was told to call 911. He returned to Rahm and told her that he couldn’t find change and that he was having “some trouble with the bill.” Rahm said that she did not see “why there should be any problem with the bill because she just withdraw it from Wells Fargo Bank three days ago.” Cheok then went up to the main floor and called 911. There were at least 15 minutes when Rahm could have left the store without being stopped by Cheok.

A San Francisco police officer, Walter Chan, came to the store, having heard on the police radio that there was a problem at the Canton Bazaar. He put Rahm under arrest for possession of a counterfeit bill. He then…

993 F.2d 1405 37 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 686 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Sharon Ann RAHM, Defendant-Appellant. No. 92-10429. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Feb. 5, 1993. Decided May 11, 1993. Brian P. Berson, Asst. Federal Public Defender, San Francisco, CA, for defendant-appellant. Martha Boersch and Harry Litman, Asst. U.S. Attys., San Francisco, CA, for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before FLETCHER, REINHARDT, and NOONAN, Circuit Judges. REINHARDT, Circuit Judge: 1 Sharon Ann Rahm appeals her conviction on charges of possession of counterfeit currency and of attempting to pass counterfeit currency, both in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 472 . We hold that the district court erred in excluding expert testimony proffered by Rahm, and reverse and remand. 2 * On August 3, 1991, Rahm attempted to purchase a three-dollar box of tea from the Canton Bazaar in San Francisco using a counterfeit $100 bill. The manager of the store recognized the bill as counterfeit, and called the authorities. Although the manager told Rahm more than once that there were some…