Cheyenne Taylor

George Lee Mims, Sr. v. U.S.

375 F.2d 135 (5th Cir. 1967)

History
 Mims was a middle-aged mechanic employed at the municipal garage in Treasure
Island, Florida.
 Mims wife died in March, 1962, leaving him with two children, with youngest at
age 13.
 In less than 60 days after the death of his wife he and a married woman, who had
two kids also, agreed to marry each other after she divorced her husband.
 The lady moved into Mims house with her two children in the middle of June and
continued to live there without benefit of clergy until they married shortly before
trial the following year.
 The addition of the increased household occupants led to financial difficulties
even with Mims working at a filling station job 3 nights a week and doing odd
and end repair work for friends on the weekend.
 He also had problems with his children and tried to solve all these problems by
drinking in excess.
 The Bank allowed him to make repairs to their adding machines which gave him
the chance to be familiar with the area and where the money was kept and he
started to consider robbing it.
 In early June he implicated Willie Joe Henderson, 22 years of age, who worked
under him at the garage as well as George Jr., Dennis and Stephen O’Connor.
 Guns, ammunition, and disguises were dispersed.
 The first trip they made they arrived at the bank after it had already closed.
 For the second day Mims rented a car and put stolen license plates on top of the
original ones and rented an apartment with a private garage to stash the car in.
 Henderson brought his cousin Thomas Napper to be included in the robbing.
 Mims showed up drunk and with two bottles of whiskey and suggested that his
companions should drink to settle their nerves.
 Henderson went to see if the bank was open but had lost his nerve to go through
with the robbery and came back and said it was closed.
Issue
 The question that was posed in this case was if he attempted to rob the bank.
Rule
 The rule that was used in this case was from the Coplon case which states that
preparation is not an attempt.
 Cheyenne Taylor

Analysis
 The court instructed the jury that they need not spend any time debating as to
whether or not an attempt was made to rob the bank.
Conclusion
 Mims was prosecuted for an attempt to enter the Madeira Beach Bank with intent
to rob it by force and violence and by intimidation.
 The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida entered a
judgement of conviction.
 Mims appealed the prosecution.
 The Court of Appeals reversed and sent the case back for retrial.