Romanelli v. Commissioner

54 T.C. 1448, 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 99
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJuly 2, 1970
DocketDocket No. 3504-67
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 54 T.C. 1448 (Romanelli v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Romanelli v. Commissioner, 54 T.C. 1448, 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 99 (tax 1970).

Opinions

OPINION

The issues in this case are whether petitioner had unreported income from wagering activities during the taxable years in question and, if so, whether his failure to report such income justified the imposition of additions to tax for fraud under section 6653(b). The disposition of these issues turns in large measure upon several evidentiary questions first presented to the Court prior to trial as a motion for the suppression of evidence. After hearing argument on the motion the Court ordered the parties to proceed with the trial and advised petitioner that he would be permitted to renew his motion at the point in trial When and if the allegedly inadmissible evidence was offered by respondent. Reichert r. Commissioner, 214 F. 2d 19 (C.A. 7,1954), affirming 19 T.C. 1027 (1953), certiorari denied 348 U.S. 909 (1955). Because of the importance of the evidentiary questions involved, which it appeared were of constitutional proportions, we reserved at trial our ruling on this matter for consideration in the course of the opinion on the merits. Instead, we permitted the introduction of all the evidence, subject to the later ruling in regard to its admissibility. Petitioner preserved his rights as to the admissibility of such evidence by properly objecting at trial to the admission of the evidence. We proceed at the outset to consider the overriding evidentiary issues presented by the facts herein.

The evidence, the admissibility of which is contested in this case, falls into two general categories. The first is tangible evidence, such as gambling slips, newspapers, and records — the fruit of a search of petitioner’s business premises, Parkside Liquors, on October 29, 1964, pursuant to a search warrant issued the same day. The second class of evidence consists of petitioner’s oral conversation with agents of the Internal Revenue Service at the time of the search. As to the former, petitioner contends that such evidence is excludable in the instant proceeding because the manner of its acquisition violated petitioner’s fourth and fifth amendment rights. As to the latter, petitioner asserts that the inadmissibility of such evidence is compelled by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), for failure of the Government agents who questioned petitioner to apprise him of his constitutional rights under the fifth and sixth amendments. We have concluded after thorough consideration of these issues that both classes of evidence are admissible in the instant case.4 We consider first the admissibility of tangible evidence seized in the course of the raid.

Petitioner’s contention respecting the alleged illegality of the search is two-pronged. He urges first that the warrant was technically defective in that the description of the place to be searched lacked the particularity necessary to the validity of a search warrant. Specifically, petitioner focuses upon the number address of petitioner’s business premises which was erroneously stated to be 5152 rather than 5158 West Irving Park Eoad.

The search warrant in question described the object of the search as “the ground floor of a one-sitory brick building at 5152 West Irving Park Eoad, Chicago, Illinois, commonly known as Parkside Liquors.” While we recognize that the number address of the premises to be searched might oftentimes be critical to its proper identification, an unquestionable requisite to the validity of the warrant (see United States v. Wroblewski, 105 P. 2d 444 (C.A. 7, 1939)), we think the description of petitioner’s business premises in the circumstances of this case adequately satisfied the particularity requirement to which petitioner alludes. Parkside Liquors, together with two other stores, occupied a single structure located at the intersection of Laramie Avenue and West Irving Park Eoad. Of the three stores, only petitioner’s business premises sold liquor. A conspicuous sign at or near the entrance of petitioner’s premises identified such premises as Parkside Liquors. In addition, petitioner’s premises were known and commonly referred to in the community as Parkside Liquors. The warrant focuses the location of Parkside Liquors upon the 5100 block and upon the 5152 through 5158 building of West Irving Park Eoad. There could have been no mistaking petitioner’s tavern as the proper Object of the search. Moreover, the limits of the search were carefully circumscribed as the “ground floor of a one-story building” which we do not view as an overbroad search. In these circumstances we deem the irregularity noted by petitioner insufficient to vitiate the search warrant. The number address, albeit an important means of identification, is not, per se, a condition to the validity of the warrant.

In Kennigham v. United States, 287 F. 2d 126 (C.A.D.C. 1960), r&lied upon by petitioner, the search warrant described the premises to be searched only as 1106 18th Street, NW. The officers executing the warrant, however, entered 1108 18th Street, NW., through a partition on the porch of the 1106 premises and seized certain evidence. The court held the seizure invalid since the officers had illegitimately extended the scope of the search warrant. The instant case is readily distinguishable since the search herein was limited to the place particularly described in the search warrant. Similarly, other cases cited by petitioner are factually distinguishable and require no further comment.

Petitioner next attacks' the validity of the search warrant on the ground that its issuance was founded upon an unconstitutional law. The underlying basis for its issuance was, as therein stated, sections 4412 and 4905.5 The former imposes a registration requirement upon persons who wish to engage in the business of accepting wagers. The latter, except insofar as it refers to section 4412, is not germane and adds little to the issue under consideration. Petitioner argues that these provisions can, in view of Marchetti v. United States, 390 U.S. 39 (1968), no longer support the issuance of a search warrant.

The Marchetti case involved the constitutionality of a criminal conviction for violation of Federal wagering statutes. Marchetti dealt specifically with sections 4411 and 4412. Section 4411 requires the payment by gamblers of an annual occupation tax; section 4412, as indicated above, requires the registration with appropriate officials before engaging in tlie business of accepting wagers. The defendant in Marchetti was convicted in the lower courts for violation of these statutes. Certiorari was granted “to re-examine the constitutionality mider the Fifth Amendment of the pertinent provisions of the wagering tax statutes.” The 'Supreme Court reversed the conviction, declaring: “ [Section 4411 and 4412] may not be employed to punish criminally those persons who have defended a failure to comply with their requirements with a proper assertion of the privilege against self-incrimination.”

In so holding, the Court overruled United States v. Kahriger, 345 U.S. 22 (1953), and Lewis v. United States, 348 U.S. 419 (1955), two prior Supreme Court eases which had upheld the constitutionality of the wagering tax statutes. The Court in Marchetti v.

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Romanelli v. Commissioner
54 T.C. 1448 (U.S. Tax Court, 1970)

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Bluebook (online)
54 T.C. 1448, 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 99, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/romanelli-v-commissioner-tax-1970.