Barnes v. United States

412 U.S. 837 (1973)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D opened a checking account using a false name. D then took four checks belonging to four different parties and cashed them into his false account. Each check bore the apparent endorsement of the payee and a second endorsement by D. At trial, the four payees testified that they have never received, endorsed, or authorized endorsement of the checks. Handwriting expert testimony revealed that D had signed the names on all the checks. The trial court instructed the jury that possession of recently stolen property if not satisfactorily explained is ordinarily a circumstance from which you may reasonably draw the inference that the person knew they have been stolen. D was convicted and appealed.