Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

702 F.2d 147

Docket No. 83-1034.

United States v. Cody

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

Decided March 16, 1983.

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals · decided 1983-03-16

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently December 1991

3 federal appellate ·

3 counsel of record

Applies 18 U.S.C. § 922 (Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act)

Relies on Dickerson v. New Banner Institute, Inc. · Montano v. United States · Cody v. United States

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Opinion by (per_curiam) · Decided 1983-03-16

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1Thomas E. Dittmeier, U.S. Atty., Pamela H. Buey, Asst. U.S. Atty., St. Louis, Mo., for appellee.

¶2James Cody, Sr., pro se.

¶3Joseph Langworthy, Pacific, Mo., for appellant.

¶4Before HEANEY, McMILLIAN and ARNOLD, Circuit Judges.

¶5*148PER CURIAM.

¶6James Cody, Sr. appeals pro se from the district court’s1 dismissal of his motion to set aside his conviction. We affirm.

¶7Appellant was convicted in 1971 of making false statements to a licensed firearms dealer in connection with the purchase of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(a)(6) and 924. Appellant had certified to a firearms dealer that he had never been convicted of a felony when in fact he had been convicted in 1964 on state felony charges in Washington County, Missouri, and had served a prison sentence. Appellant’s federal firearms conviction was affirmed on appeal. See Cody v. United States, 460 F.2d 34 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1010, 93 S.Ct. 454, 34 L.Ed.2d 303 (1972).

¶8On August 13, 1982, appellant wrote a letter to the district court requesting that his federal conviction be set aside because the Circuit Court of Washington County, Missouri, had entered an order expunging the records of his state conviction. Appellant argued that because the state conviction underlying the federal conviction no longer existed, the federal conviction could not stand.

¶9We believe the district court correctly dismissed the case. Appellant’s federal firearms conviction was “not for being a convicted felon, but for failing to tell the truth about the conviction.” United States v. Edwards, 568 F.2d 68, 70-71 (8th Cir. 1977), citing Cassity v. United States, 521 F.2d 1320, 1323 (6th Cir.1975). The fact that a state court ordered appellant’s state felony conviction expunged from his record subsequent to his federal conviction does not affect the federal conviction. See Dickerson v. New Banner Institute, Inc., - U.S.-,---, 103 S.Ct. 986, 992-995, 74 L.Ed.2d 845 (1983) (expunction of state conviction does not automatically remove federal firearms disability); United States v. Williams, 484 F.2d 428, 429 (8th Cir.1973) (upholding federal firearms conviction even though state court reversed underlying felony charge subsequent to federal conviction); see also United States v. Cody, 529 F.2d 564 (8th Cir.1976) (technical deficiency in state felony judgment rendering judgment void not grounds for upsetting federal firearms conviction).

¶10Accordingly, we affirm.

/702/f2d/147 · .json · Public domain