United States v. Taylor

648 F.2d 565 (9th Cir. 1981)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Taylor (D) was indicted for fraudulently getting a loan by making false representations of material facts. In a letter dated January 16, 1975, D represented that Home Federal held a first lien on certain property. The letter was telecopied from San Diego to Wittman in Houston. Wittman then photocopied it and sent the photocopy to the bank. On January 24, 1975, D signed a letter of agreement confirming Home Federal's lien, and the loan to Wittman was made. Months later, Wittman defaulted. At trial, an issue was raised as to one element of the charged offense, interstate communication to execute fraud. It could not be proven whether D signed the letter in Texas or California. The trial court allowed the government (P) to introduce into evidence a photocopy of the January 16 letter because P claimed that the original had been unsuccessfully subpoenaed from the relevant parties. D's counsel did not object to the original document's unavailability. It was never established that this was a direct copy of the telecopy, so the question as to where the letter was actually signed was never answered. D was convicted, and he appealed.