Federal Circuits, 9th Cir. (August 13, 1979)
Docket number: 79-1026
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U.S. Supreme Court - Hawkins v. United States, 358 U.S. 74 (1958)
U.S. Supreme Court - Lutwak v. United States, 344 U.S. 604 (1953)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Cir. - United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Toy Burton Madden, Defendant-Appellant. United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Toy Burton Madden, Defendant-Appellant., 38 F.3d 747 (4th Cir. 1994) Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Toy Burton Madden, Defendant-Appellant. United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Toy Burton Madden, Defendant-Appellant.
Mark E. Griffin, Asst. Federal Public Defender, Portland, Or., for defendant-appellant.
Kristine O. Rogers, Asst. U. S. Atty., Portland, Or., for plaintiff-appellee.Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.Before WALLACE and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges, and MURRAY,* District Judge.PER CURIAM:Saniti was convicted of bank robbery pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 2113(a). We affirm.Relying upon Hawkins v. United States, 358 U.S. 74, 79 S.Ct. 136, 3 L.Ed.2d 125 (1958), Saniti contends that the district court committed reversible error when it compelled his wife to testify against him. Even assuming the legal issue was properly raised in this case, there is a narrow exception to the husband-wife privilege when the marriage is not entered into in good faith. See Lutwak v. United States, 344 U.S. 604, 73 S.Ct. 481, 97 L.Ed. 593 (1953); United States v. Mathis, 559 F.2d 294, 298 (5th Cir. 1977). Thus, if it were a sham, the purported marriage could not be used to invoke the privilege. The district judge held an evidentiary hearing on the issue of the validity of the marriage for the purpose of the husband-wife privilege, and concluded that it was indeed a sham.1 The determination that the marriage was a sham was a finding of fact which cannot be set aside unless it is clearly erroneous. Here it was not. There was adequate evidence to substantiate it.Saniti next contends that the district court improperly admitted into evidence testimony that he was addicted to heroin at the time of the bank robbery. We disagree. Evidence that he had a $250-a-day heroin and morphine habit was properly admitted to show his motive for robbing the bank. Evidence that tends to show that a defendant is living beyond his means is of probative value in a case involving a crime resulting in financial gain. United States v. Tierney, 424 F.2d 643, 647 (9th Cir.), Cert. denied,Try vLex for FREE for 3 days
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