United States v. Johnny Lee Coleman

This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction for transporting forged bank checks in interstate commerce. The defendant was tried before a jury.

The only witness to link Coleman to the offense was Robert Scott, a seventeen-year-old youth who attempted to pass one of the forged checks for Cole man. Before trial, Scott had given to Coleman’s counsel a sworn statement absolving Coleman of guilt in the offense. This evidence was introduced at trial. In his testimony at trial, however, Scott directly contradicted his earlier statement and gave strong testimony against Coleman. He stated that his…