United States v. Calhoon

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 00-21147
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
GEORGE PATRICK CALHOON,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. H-99-CR-111-1
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October 29, 2001
Before DUHÉ, EMILIO M. GARZA, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:1
George Patrick Calhoon appeals from his conviction following
a jury trial for threatening with intent to impede, intimidate, and
interfere with a federal official, Senator Phil Gramm, while
engaging in the performance of his official duties, 18 U.S.C.
§ 115(a)(1)(B). We have reviewed the record, the briefs of the
parties, and the applicable law, and we discern no reversible
error.
Because the indictment here tracks the language of the
statute, alleging all the elements of the crime, gives notice of
1
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
the charges, and permits the defendant to raise double jeopardy,
the district court did not err in denying Calhoon’s motion to
dismiss the indictment. See Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87,
117 (1974).
Calhoon did not renew his motion for judgment of acquittal at
the close of all the evidence so we review his claims of
insufficiency of the evidence only for plain error. Calhoon’s
challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence fails under plain
error review because the record is not devoid of evidence pointing
to guilt nor is the evidence on a key element of the offense so
tenuous that a conviction would be shocking. United States v.
McCarty, 36 F.3d 1349, 1358 (5th Cir. 1994). On the contrary, the
Government presented ample evidence establishing the context of
Calhoon’s voice mail to Senator Gramm and why it was viewed as a
threat by the senator’s staff. Calhoon’s conviction is AFFIRMED.
2