United States v. Civella

547 F. Supp. 252, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15859
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedMarch 11, 1982
DocketNo. 80-00054-01-CR-W-4
StatusPublished

This text of 547 F. Supp. 252 (United States v. Civella) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Civella, 547 F. Supp. 252, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15859 (W.D. Mo. 1982).

Opinion

ORDER

RUSSELL G. CLARK, Chief Judge.

On May 13, 1980 the government filed a three count indictment charging defendant [253]*253with violations of 26 U.S.C. §§ 7206(2), 7201, and 7203 respectively. Defendant was convicted on all three counts following a jury trial held on November 17-24, 1980. On January 29, 1981 the Court entered a judgment of acquittal on Count I, granted defendant’s motion for a new trial on Count II, and denied defendant’s motions as to Count III. On February 6, 1981 defendant appealed his conviction on Count III and this Court’s denial of his motions for acquittal and for arrest of judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. On March 9,1981 this Court granted defendant’s motion to stay all trial court proceedings pending the outcome of defendant’s appeal. On June 2, 1981 the Eighth Circuit dismissed defendant’s appeal as to Count II of the indictment for lack of jurisdiction and in an order dated December 4, 1981 affirmed defendant’s conviction on Count III.

On December 23, 1981 defendant filed a motion to dismiss Count II of the Indictment with prejudice and requested a hearing on his motion. On December 30, 1981 this Court, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) and Local Rule 26, referred defendant’s motion to Chief United States Magistrate Hamilton. On January 8, 1982 defendant filed a sweeping discovery motion requesting from fourteen federal and state law enforcement agencies production of every document which might be relevant to defendant’s motion to dismiss Count II. On January 12, 1982 Chief Magistrate Hamilton convened an evidentiary hearing on defendant’s motions to dismiss and for discovery. On January 29, 1982 Chief Magistrate Hamilton submitted proposed findings of fact and recommended that defendant’s motions be denied. On February 5, 1982 defendant filed his objections to the Magistrate’s findings of fact and recommendations. Having carefully reviewed the report submitted by Chief Magistrate Hamilton, the transcript of the Magistrate’s hearing, defendant’s trial transcript, and the complete record of this case, the Court will adopt the Magistrate’s findings of fact as outlined herein and will deny defendant’s motions for discovery and for dismissal of Count II.

Defendant contends in essence that the government’s handling of statistical evidence during defendant’s trial caused a mistrial, constituted gross negligence, was intended to deprive defendant of his right to an acquittal, and that, consequently, the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment bars retrial of Count II. The basic policy on which defendant bases his motion to dismiss is that “the state, with all its resources and power, should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby subjecting him to embarrassment, expense and ordeal and compelling him to live in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity, as well as enhancing the possibility that even though innocent he may be found guilty.” United States v. Martin, 561 F.2d 135, 138 (8th Cir. 1977). This policy, embodied in the Double Jeopardy Clause, protects a defendant “against governmental actions intended to provoke mistrial requests and thereby to subject defendants to the substantial burdens imposed by multiple prosecutions.” United States v. Dinitz, 424 U.S. 600, 611, 96 S.Ct. 1075, 1081, 47 L.Ed.2d 267 (1976) (citations omitted). The Supreme Court, however, has distinguished cases in which mistrials are declared sua sponte by the Court from cases in which mistrials are granted at the defendant’s request or with his consent. In the former situation a showing of “manifest necessity” for the mistrial is required before a retrial will be permitted. United States v. Jorn, 400 U.S. 470, 480-81, 91 S.Ct. 547, 554-555, 27 L.Ed.2d 543 (1971). In the latter situation retrial is prohibited only when the underlying error is motivated by bad faith or undertaken to harass or prejudice the defendant. United States v. Dinitz, 424 U.S. at 611, 96 S.Ct. at 1081. The Eighth Circuit has indicated that gross negligence which results in a mistrial may constitute “prosecutorial overreaching” for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause. United States v. Martin, 561 F.2d at 140. Since retrial of Count II in this case results solely from defendant’s post-trial motion for a new tri[254]*254al, the Court must find the presence of prosecutorial overreaching before the Double Jeopardy Clause may be applied.

Chief Magistrate Hamilton reviewed defendant’s court file, the transcript of defendant’s trial, the stipulated testimony, the testimony of witnesses called at defendant’s evidentiary hearing, and Special Agent Malcolm’s report before making his proposed findings of fact. Defendant objects only to those findings numbered 15 through 21 inclusive, 23, 33-38 inclusive and numbers 1(a), (c), (d), (e), 2(a), (b), (c), 3 and 4. Defendant claims that certain trial testimony of Dr. Carlson, plaintiff’s statistical expert, and of Charles Carpenter, plaintiff’s informant, contradicts the Magistrate’s findings enumerated above. With the few exceptions noted below, this Court disagrees.

Defendant contends initially that Dr. Carlson was not informed by plaintiff of variables which detracted from the reliability of his statistical projections. Specifically defendant claims that Dr. Carlson was not informed by plaintiff of changes in liquor prices or that friends of the owners and various celebrities were admitted without cover charge into defendant’s nightclub. When questioned on these issues at trial, however, Dr. Carlson did not deny being so informed, but stated merely that he did not recall receiving the information (Tr. 458, 459). Dr. Carlson further testified that he was informed concerning the existence of “ladies nights,” the varying ability of some bands to draw customers, and the occasional absence of live entertainment at defendant’s club, but that he was not informed of the specific dates or nights on which those events occurred (Tr. 465). Dr. Carlson also testified that he was not informed of specific door charge amounts nor whether the door charge was imposed and later lifted during specific evenings (Tr. 465). The Court finds that the testimony of Dr. Carlson does not conflict with any of the findings of fact proposed by the Magistrate with the exception of numbers 17(b), (c), 23, and 1(c), (d).

Defendant also asserts that although Dr. Carlson admitted at trial the importance and relevance of information concerning the percentage of bar register income attributable to freely admitted patrons, plaintiff never provided that information. The Court notes initially that the record fails to support defendant’s basic assumption that persons admitted free generally purchased their liquor at the bar. Charles Carpenter specifically denied that conclusion at trial (Tr. 159). Carpenter’s testimony, at most, implies that a majority of bar liquor sales originated in a “stand-up” area and that “a lot” of people who were admitted free went into the stand-up area.

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Related

United States v. Jorn
400 U.S. 470 (Supreme Court, 1971)
United States v. Dinitz
424 U.S. 600 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Burks v. United States
437 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1978)
United States v. Louis Martin
561 F.2d 135 (Eighth Circuit, 1977)

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Bluebook (online)
547 F. Supp. 252, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15859, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-civella-mowd-1982.