Schifter v. United States

428 F. Supp. 611, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16832
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedMarch 18, 1977
DocketNo. 76 C 1985
StatusPublished

This text of 428 F. Supp. 611 (Schifter v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schifter v. United States, 428 F. Supp. 611, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16832 (E.D.N.Y. 1977).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

PLATT, District Judge.

By Notice of Motion returnable at 4:00 o’clock in the morning on October 18, 1976, petitioner has “applied” for “an application made in the interest of Justice pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. § 2255 for the Court * * to vacate one of two sentences and fines imposed” on him on July 9, 1976.

Following a verdict by a jury finding the petitioner guilty of receiving or transporting a quantity of camera lenses and accessories which had been unlawfully removed from the custody of the United States Custom Service, petitioner knowing the same to have been unlawfully removed, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 549 (Count 1), and of possession of camera lenses and accessories which had been stolen from a shipment moving in interstate or foreign shipment, petitioner knowing the same to have been stolen, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 659 (Count 2), this Court sentenced petitioner to two (2) years imprisonment on Count one and ten (10) years on Count two and imposed a $5,000 cumulative fine on each count for a total, fine of $10,000. The Court also ordered a study as described in Title 18 U.S.C. § 4208(c) and stated that the defendant’s sentence would be subject to modification pursuant to Title 18 U.S.C. § 4208(b).

On appeal, petitioner’s judgment of conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit without opinion and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari.

Thereafter this Court suspended the execution of the remainder of the prison sentences under counts 1 and 2, placed peti[613]*613tioner on probation for a period of five (5) years on each count to run concurrently, and let the fines stand as originally imposed.

Petitioner now says that his convictions on the two counts should have been merged for the purposes of sentencing or that the indictment was multiplicitous in that the receiving or transporting charge and the possession charge actually constitute only one offense and therefore his sentence under one of the counts of the indictment is in violation of the Constitution and the laws of the United States and must be vacated under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.

At the outset, it may be noted that the imposition of a fine alone may not constitute sufficient custody for habeas corpus jurisdiction. Wright v. Bailey, 544 F.2d 737 (4th Cir. 1976); Russell v. City of Pierce, 530 F.2d 791 (8th Cir. 1976); Edmunds v. Won Bae Chang, 509 F.2d 39 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 825, 96 S.Ct. 39, 46 L.Ed.2d 41 (1975); Pueschel v. Leuba, 383 F.Supp. 576 (D.C.Conn.1974).

Assuming for the sake of argument that the imposition of cumulative fines, coupled with the fact that the petitioner is required to serve concurrent probationary terms, may constitute sufficient prejudice to the petitioner to warrant habeas corpus review, petitioner’s application is, for the reasons hereinafter indicated, still insufficient in that in this case petitioner was convicted of not one but of two separate crimes.

There are two applicable tests to determine whether the offenses are separate or the same, the first of which was set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 at page 304, 52 S.Ct. 180 at page 182, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932), as follows:

“[W]here the same act or transaction constitutes a violation of two distinct statutory provisions, the test to be applied to determine whether there are two offenses or only one, is whether each provision requires proof of a fact which the other does not.”

In the case at bar, the government had to establish under 18 U.S.C. § 549 that the defendant received or transported the merchandise and that the merchandise was unlawfully removed from Customs custody, whereas under 18 U.S.C. § 659 the government had to establish that the defendant had goods in his possession and that the goods were stolen from a foreign or interstate shipment.

Thus, to obtain a conviction under Count 1 of the indictment, i. e., to show a violation of § 549, the government had to prove unlawful removal from Customs custody, whereas under Count 2 the government was not required to adduce any such proof but was merely required to show that the goods were part of an interstate or foreign shipment. See United States v. Concepcion, 419 F.2d 1263 (2d Cir. 1970).

This difference alone is sufficient to meet the so-called “Blockburger test” set forth above.

In addition, contrary to petitioner’s contention, the proof with respect to receipt on the one hand and possession on the other is different. In order to establish possession the proof must show actual or constructive dominion or control over the object as contrasted to “a passing control” or one that is “fleeting and shadowy in its nature”. United States v. Parent, 484 F.2d 726, 732 (7th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 415 U.S. 923, 94 S.Ct. 1427, 39 L.Ed.2d 479 (1974). See also United States v. Koran, 453 F.2d 144, 146 (10th Cir. 1972); Kane v. United States, 154 F.Supp. 95, 98 (S.D.N.Y. 1957).

Moreover, in this case the jury might well have found the defendant guilty of both receiving and transporting the merchandise in question since it was recovered from the rear of his automobile only a little more than a month after it was discovered missing from the custody of the United States Custom Service.

Proof to sustain a transportation charge under § 549 is necessarily different than that required to sustain a possession charge. Aiuppa v. United States, 393 F.2d 597 (10th Cir. 1968), r'vsd on other grounds sub nom., [614]*614Giordano v. United States, 394 U.S. 310, 89 S.Ct. 1163, 22 L.Ed.2d 297 (1969).

In addition to the different fact test required by the Supreme Court in Blockburger,

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

Related

Blockburger v. United States
284 U.S. 299 (Supreme Court, 1931)
Prince v. United States
352 U.S. 322 (Supreme Court, 1957)
Gore v. United States
357 U.S. 386 (Supreme Court, 1958)
O'BRIEN v. United States
386 U.S. 345 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Giordano v. United States
394 U.S. 310 (Supreme Court, 1969)
United States v. Gaddis
424 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Joseph Aiuppa v. United States
393 F.2d 597 (Tenth Circuit, 1968)
United States v. Charles Concepcion
419 F.2d 1263 (Second Circuit, 1970)
United States v. Joseph Cedar
437 F.2d 1033 (Ninth Circuit, 1971)
United States v. Betty Koran
453 F.2d 144 (Tenth Circuit, 1972)
United States v. Leo Parent
484 F.2d 726 (Seventh Circuit, 1973)
United States v. O'BRIEN
255 F. Supp. 755 (E.D. Michigan, 1965)
Pueschel v. Leuba
383 F. Supp. 576 (D. Connecticut, 1974)
Kane v. United States
154 F. Supp. 95 (S.D. New York, 1957)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
428 F. Supp. 611, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16832, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schifter-v-united-states-nyed-1977.