United States v. Darryl Nichols Payne

Defendant-Appellant Darryl Nichols Payne appeals his conviction for obstruction and desertion of mail. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the decision of the district court with respect to several of the issues raised by Payne; however, we reverse Payne’s conviction and remand for further proceedings.

I

A.'

On September 25, 1991, a grand jury charged Payne in a seven-count indictment with four counts of soliciting bribes and attempting to solicit bribes, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 201(b)(2)(A) (1988) and 201(b)(2)(C) (1988); two counts of obstructing mail, in contravention of 18 U.S.C. §…