United States v. Cowan

BALDOCK, Circuit Judge.

This appeal presents the question of whether the intent to defraud is an element of the crime of forging the signature of a federal judge in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 505. Section 505 provides in relevant part: “Whoever forges the signature of any judge ... of any court of the United States, ... for the purpose of authenticating any proceeding or document, knowing such signature ... to be false ... shall be fined under this Title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.” We hold that the intent to defraud is not an element of the crime.

I

A grand jury indicted…