United States v. Beasley , 111 F. App'x 147 ( 2004 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-4342
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
MARK E. BEASLEY,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Richmond. Henry E. Hudson, District
Judge. (CR-03-277)
Submitted: August 27, 2004 Decided: September 14, 2004
Before NIEMEYER, WILLIAMS, and KING, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Peter R. Roane, Charlottesville, Virginia, for Appellant. Paul J.
McNulty, United States Attorney, Sara E. Flannery, Assistant United
States Attorney, Matthew G. Howells, Third-Year Law Student,
Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
After a bench trial, Mark E. Beasley was convicted of
willfully failing to pay court-ordered child support from
January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2000, in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 228(a)(3) (2000). Beasley appeals his conviction,
asserting that the evidence was insufficient. We affirm.
Beasley contends that the Government failed to prove that
he acted willfully. We review de novo the district court’s
decision to deny a motion under Fed. R. Crim. P. 29. United
States v. Ryan-Webster, 353 F.3d 353, 359 (4th Cir. 2003). Where,
as here, the motion was based on insufficient evidence, “[t]he
verdict . . . must be sustained if there is substantial evidence,
taking the view most favorable to the Government, to support it.”
Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80 (1942); Elliott v. United
States, 332 F.3d 753, 760-61 (4th Cir.) (applying standard to bench
trial), cert. denied, 124 S. Ct. 487 (2003). Our review of the
trial transcript convinces us that Beasley willfully failed to pay
child support during the period charged in the indictment. See
United States v. Mattice, 186 F.3d 219, 225 (2d Cir. 1999)
(defining willfulness as “voluntary, intentional violation of a
known legal duty”) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted);
cf. United States v. Black, 125 F.3d 454, 465-66 (7th Cir. 1997)
(finding that noncustodial parent willfully failed to pay child
support where original tax returns showed earned income during
- 2 -
period charged in indictment but no child support payments were
made during that time).
Accordingly, we affirm Beasley’s conviction. We dispense
with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument
would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
- 3 -