Morse v. United States

215 F. Supp. 398, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6351
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedFebruary 18, 1963
DocketNo. 57 Cr. 46(1)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 215 F. Supp. 398 (Morse v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morse v. United States, 215 F. Supp. 398, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6351 (E.D. Mo. 1963).

Opinion

MEREDITH, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court pursuant to an Order of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Cause No. 17089, rendered on June 29, 1962, vacating the trial court’s order overruling petitioner’s motion for a hearing to vacate sentence imposed in 1957. Petitioner was returned to St. Louis, Missouri, on September 27, 1962, and a hearing was had on November 30, 1962.

The petitioner was given three consecutive sentences of 4 years each in 1957, on his plea of guilty to each of the three counts of an information charging violations of 18 U.S.C. § 2115, in the burglary of three post offices at Dillard, at Safe, and at Davisville, Missouri, all towns located in the Eastern District of Missouri. Since being sentenced the petitioner has filed seven motions to have his sentence vacated, all of which were denied without a hearing.

The sole basis on which the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit granted a hearing was on petitioner’s allegation that he was induced to make the confession to a postal inspector of the three burglaries in question upon the representations by the postal inspector that he would get only a four-year sentence and that the judge had assured the postal inspector that he would impose such a sentence.

[399]*399This Court on the 6th day of September, 1962, issued an order bringing the petitioner back to St. Louis from confinement in the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas.

Upon petitioner’s return to St. Louis, the Court appointed an able and experienced lawyer, well versed in all aspects of criminal law, to represent him. At the request of the petitioner this Court required the United States Attorney to subpoena F. J. Romph, the postal inspector who took the confession of petitioner originally; Mrs. Norma Morse, the ex-wife of petitioner, who is presently named Mrs. Ralph Gorgos; the postmaster at Davisville, Missouri, who was in charge of the post office at the time of one of the burglaries in question; Ralph Crow, an attorney at Rolla, Missouri, who represented petitioner in connection with four charges of burglary which were filed against the petitioner in the state courts at the time he pled guilty to the federal charges; Fred Roth, the attorney originally appointed by the district court to represent the petitioner when he entered the plea of guilty. Testimony of all these persons was taken at the hearing. The order of this Court further required the postmaster to bring a chart of the post office building at Davis-ville, Missouri, and the postal inspector was required to bring all of his notes in connection with the postal burglaries. The Court further ordered the government to produce the petitioner’s naval medical records from the time he served in the Navy in 1944.

The Court gave the petitioner great latitude in all answers of inquiry at the time of trial.

The facts as found by the Court are as follows:

Petitioner Morse was confined in the jail at Steeleville, Missouri, prior to December 22, 1956, facing three separate charges under the state law of burglaries alleged to have occurred in separate counties in Missouri. If found guilty of these charges, sentences could have been imposed up to 5 years on each charge plus an additional 5 years on each charge if larceny was included. Since he had a previous criminal record, the possibility of a greater sentence existed under the Missouri Habitual Criminal Act. The postal inspector talked to the petitioner on December 22, 1956, to ascertain if he had any connection with the postal burglaries committed in Dillard, Safe, and Davisville, Missouri. At this time petitioner gave him no information. Prior to questioning petitioner, the postal inspector advised him of his right not to give information that could be used against him and of his right to have his lawyer present. Petitioner was similarly advised by the postal inspector on all subsequent interviews.

During the time Morse was confined in the jail at Steeleville, Missouri, facing state charges, he had an attorney at Rolla, Missouri, who was employed for the purpose of defending Morse only on the state charges. This attorney discussed with the various state prosecuting officials the possibility of the state not prosecuting the state charges against Morse in the event Morse was prosecuted on federal charges, and while petitioner’s attorney did not receive any definite assurances, based on his past experience and practice, it was his opinion that this would be done. This attorney did not discuss any of these matters with federal officials.

The postal inspector talked to petitioner Morse again on January 8, 1957, and Morse gave him no information, but on February 7, 1957, Morse signed a written confession in which he detailed facts showing that he had committed postal burglaries at Safe, Missouri, on January 16, 1956; at Davisville, Missouri, on June 14, 1956, and at Dillard, Missouri, on December 7, 1956.

The written confession signed by the petitioner contained this paragraph:

“I have been informed of my constitutional rights and am fully aware that I am not required to give any [400]*400statement, make any statement or sign any statement. I have been informed that this statement may be used against me. Inspector Romph has talked with me in detail and has not made any promises of any kind to me and has not threatened me in any manner. My attorney, Mr. Ralph Crow, Rolla, Mo., has talked with me and has knowledge of this statement and has approved my giving the statement.”

The petitioner in his testimony at this hearing admitted that the statement was true in all respects except for this sentence :

“Inspector Romph has talked to me in detail and has not made any promises of any kind to me and has not threatened me in any manner.”

The petitioner also testified that in addition to the three occasions on which the postal inspector talked to him, the postal inspector also talked to him on February 5, 1957, at which time petitioner stated that the postal inspector advised him he would get only a four-year sentence and that he, the postal inspector, would talk to the judge and see if the judge would go along with him. Petitioner also testified that on February 7,1957, the postal inspector returned and told him that the judge had agreed to go along with him and that he would get only a four-year sentence, and based upon this promise he made the confession. Petitioner was very careful in his testimony about the alleged deal he made with the postal inspector. He testified that only he and the postal inspector were present at the time the alleged deal was made. However, the evidence shows that on February 7, 1957, during most of the time that the postal inspector interviewed the petitioner, either the sheriff of Crawford County or the prosecuting attorney of that county was present.

While petitioner testified that he informed his wife of the alleged deal, her testimony does not support his assertion. Both attorneys for the petitioner testified-that he had not informed them of the alleged deal.

Apart from the petitioner’s testimony, there was no evidence that the postal inspector talked with the petitioner on February 5. The diary of the postal inspector was submitted in evidence. The entry in this diary for February 5, showed that the postal inspector was not in Steeleville on February 5th.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Morse v. United States
263 F. Supp. 306 (E.D. Missouri, 1967)
Walter Eugene Morse v. United States
324 F.2d 80 (Eighth Circuit, 1963)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
215 F. Supp. 398, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6351, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morse-v-united-states-moed-1963.