United States v. Charles Thomas Bryan and James Eston Echols. Appeal of Charles Thomas Bryan

OPINION OF THE COURT

ROSENN, Circuit Judge.

This appeal of a conviction for aiding and abetting the theft of a shipment in interstate commerce presents the challenging question of whether a defendant who engineered the theft can be found guilty when his co-defendant, charged with being the crime’s principal, is acquitted because he may have been an innocent dupe. Two related questions are involved: (1) was any crime committed when the proof failed to demonstrate that the charged principal had felonious intent; and (2) was there an unconstitutional constructive amendment of the indictment if the…