Charlotte J. Belt v. United States

U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Charlotte J. Belt v. United States, 317 F.2d 157 (D.C. Cir. 1963)
115 U.S. App. D.C. 93; 1963 U.S. App. LEXIS 5819

Charlotte J. Belt v. United States

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Appellant was convicted on three counts of an indictment charging violations of the narcotics laws, 26 U.S.C. §§ 4704(a), 4705(a), and 21 U.S.C. § 174 (1958). Appellant’s able court-appointed counsel (who was not of counsel at the trial) has made three allegations of error. Two of them relate to questions posed to the court by the jury after it had begun its deliberations. Counsel urges that the answers given by the judge were prejudicial to the accused. We do not consider them so, at least in any sense of which the accused can properly complain. The answers were thoughtfully and carefully made, after consultation with counsel at the bench, 1 and in our view cannot be said to constitute reversible error. The third contention relates to a portion of the court’s charge which is alleged to be inaccurate and misleading. We do not find it so. No objection was made at the trial, and the charge as a whole seems fair and clear. We find no error affecting substantial rights.

Affirmed.

1

. Defense counsel objected to each answer made by the judge. We think the objections were properly overruled.

Reference

Full Case Name
Charlotte J. BELT, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee
Status
Published