United States v. Richard Clinton Allsup

Allsup has appealed from his conviction for two bank robberies, contending that multiple errors in the course of his trial denied him a fair trial. In an opinion authored by Judge Hufstedler, the majority agrees with Allsup that the cumulative errors dictate that he must be tried anew.

Of the many contentions of error, the majority found it necessary to address only four: (1) The inadequacy of the voir dire of the jury on the insanity question; (2) the failure of the district court to excuse two jurors for cause; (3) the district court’s intervention in cross-examination of a Government…