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1980 – October 18, 1982
The banked item: The Robberies note carries Robert Mercer as a tested negative: a federal bank-robbery prosecution out of the South Bend seat that could not be tied to any bank or robbery in this record. This pass read the opinion entire — United States v. Mercer, 691 F.2d 343 (7th Cir.), submitted September 1, 1982, decided October 18, 1982.
What the opinion says: Mercer pleaded guilty to bank robbery under 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) at a plea colloquy on April 16, 1980. On July 18, 1980, Judge McNagny sentenced him to fifteen years, stating that he would reduce the term to ten under Rule 35 if Mercer cooperated and told where the remainder of the funds were. The Seventh Circuit vacated the conviction and the sentence and remanded, to afford Mercer the opportunity to withdraw his plea.
What it does not say: The opinion nowhere names the bank that was robbed or the city where the robbery occurred. The only geographic marker in the reports is the appellee's counsel listing — "David T. Ready, U.S. Atty., South Bend, Ind." — which seats the prosecution in South Bend, not the robbery. The negative stands verified at first hand: Mercer is not counted in this record, and the search need not be repeated blind.
Sources:
- United States v. Mercer, 691 F.2d 343 (7th Cir. 1982) — read in full: the plea, the fifteen-year sentence and the Rule 35 offer, the vacatur, and the absence of any bank or robbery city.