United States v. Stan Smith

JOHN P. MOORE, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner Stan Smith appeals from his conviction of bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113. Mr. Smith contends that the trial court erred by not giving a cautionary jury instruction regarding the testimony of John Heller, a paid informant and rebuttal witness. After reviewing the trial record, we conclude that even if rejection of the defendant’s instruction was erroneous, any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because of the substantial evidence identifying Mr. Smith as the bank robber. Therefore, we affirm Mr. Smith’s conviction. Mr. Smith also…