Acosta

United States v. Acosta

Good Law
330 F. App'x 632
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitMay 13, 2009No. 08-10290California478 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Andrew Acosta appeals his conviction and sentence for robbing the same bank twice in twelve days. We affirm.

Acosta challenges the sufficiency of the evidence showing that the bank was federally insured. “The law is clear that the uncontradicted testimony of a bank employee on the issue of FDIC insurance is sufficient to support a jury’s finding of that element.” United States v. Ware, 416 F.3d 1118 , 1121 n. 2 (9th Cir.2005) (citations omitted). The testimony here was uncontradicted; the defense only objected to the witness’s knowledge of the audit reports.

The district judge did not abuse her discretion in denying Acosta’s for cause challenge to venireman 22, because her answers and demeanor demonstrated she could be impartial. United States v. Alexander, 48 F.3d 1477, 1484 (9th Cir.1995). Venireman 22’s unequivocal and honest statements preclude a finding of implied bias. Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 215 , 102 S.Ct. 940 , 71 L.Ed.2d 78 (1982); Fields v. Brown, 503 F.3d 755, 773-75 (9th Cir.2007) (en banc). Furthermore, she was no longer employed by Bank of America and had not been for four years. Compare United States v. Allsup, 566 F.2d 68, 71-72 (9th…

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