United States v. Funkhouser

198 F. Supp. 708, 9 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1815, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5682
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedOctober 18, 1961
DocketCrim. No. 21794
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 198 F. Supp. 708 (United States v. Funkhouser) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Funkhouser, 198 F. Supp. 708, 9 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1815, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5682 (D. Md. 1961).

Opinion

THOMSEN, Chief Judge.

Defendant was found guilty of income tax evasion by a jury in this court and on the following day,' June 6, 1952, was sentenced by Judge Chesnut to imprisonment for one year and a $25,000 fine. On the same day he signed a paper, witnessed by his attorney, G. C. A. Anderson, certifying that he did not wish to appeal the judgment, but elected to begin serving his sentence at once.

He filed no appeal, but on June 20, 1952, filed a motion to enlarge time for appeal, which was heard and denied by Judge Chesnut. Defendant served his sentence until paroled and paid his fine.

On March 28, 1958, he filed a motion under Rule 35, F.R.Crim.P., 18 U.S.C.A., to “correct the illegal sentence”, raising a great many points, which were considered by Judge Chesnut and by the Fourth Circuit on appeal from Judge Chesnut’s order denying the motion. See Funk-houser v. United States, 4 Cir., 1958, 260 F.2d 86, certiorari denied 358 U.S. 940, 79 S.Ct. 346, 3 L.Ed.2d 348.

In the fall of 1959 defendant filed three motions in this court: (1) “to correct illegal sentence”, (2) “to review record and void illegal sentence”, and (3) “to examine the record of the proceedings before the grand jury.” Those motions were denied after hearing, and defendant appealed.

As an appendix to his brief on appeal defendant presented for the first time an unauthenticated photostatic copy of a previously undisclosed letter which he claims to have written to Judge Chesnut on June 6, 1952, and which he contends was a timely notice of appeal which the Judge should have filed in the Clerk’s office among the papers in the case, but which defendant claims the Judge mailed back to defendant’s wife. See Funk-houser v. United States, 4 Cir., 1960, 282 F.2d 341, 342.

In reply the government submitted, from Judge Chesnut’s files, a letter bearing the same date, June 6,1952, but with an entirely different text, and contended that defendant’s exhibit was spurious. The Fourth Circuit felt that the issue was not one which should be decided upon documents not in the record and explanations unsupported by sworn testimony; accordingly that Court vacated the order and remanded the case to this Court “for the reception of evidence from both parties upon the above issue and others raised by the defendant”. It directed: “The District Judge should then make specific findings of fact and conclusions of law upon all such issues.”

In further motions, briefs, and oral argument at a hearing held before me on September 11-12, 1961, defendant has raised over sixty points. Some of them concern the validity of the judgment, the alleged letter of appeal and certain questions of procedural due process. Those issues will be dealt with below. Most of the points concern issues which were disposed of by the Fourth Circuit on the first appeal. 260 F.2d 86, 87. Defendant’s principal complaint is still that the precise amount of his indebtedness had not been determined before the indictment was found. The [710]*710Fourth Circuit dealt with that contention on the first appeal, stating:

“ * * * there is no requirement for the precise computation and assessment of the tax before there can be a criminal prosecution for fraudulent tax evasion under Sec. 145(b).
“The appellant also argues that the Commissioner had not, prior to the prosecution, passed upon each of 30,000 claimed deductions. At the trial the Government did prove that, by making various false claims for deductions, a substantial understatement of taxable income in the defendant’s returns had occurred. This is sufficient basis for a criminal prosecution without first establishing the precise amount of the defendant’s tax indebtedness. In later civil proceedings for the collection of the tax due by the appellant there was a determination and assessment as provided for in See. 272(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939.” 260 F.2d at page 87.

That ruling is binding on this court, and the remand does not require this court to redetermine that question of lav/. If the mandate should be construed to require that I pass on the question, I conclude that it was correctly decided by the Fourth Circuit.

A. On the issue of the purported appeal letter, the following facts are found.

While the jury was still deliberating, defendant told his counsel that if he were found guilty he “wanted to get it over with”, and did not wish to appeal. Accordingly, with defendant’s approval, his counsel asked that sentence be imposed promptly, and it was imposed the next day, June 6, 1952. On the same day defendant signed the election to waive appeal and begin sentence at once, referred to above.

After he was returned to thé Baltimore City Jail, the same day, June 6, 1952, he wrote a letter to Judge Chesnut, which both parties concede to be genuine, thanking him for his consideration and fairness in the trial, but complaining that the Judge was “imposed upon and deceived this morning by [the assistant United States Attorney] when he told you that the government would make a civil claim against me for $288,000 for the years in question”. The letter referred to various figures and contentions, but did not in any way indicate a desire or intention to appeal. That letter was found in Judge Chesnut’s file by Mrs. Riede, who has been his secretary ever since he became a judge.

The disputed letter, which defendant claims he wrote to Judge Chesnut on the same day, June 6, 1952, also discusses figures and ends with the sentence: “Please examine that record and accept this as my notice of appeal, motion for a new trial, or appeal of this case no. 21794.”

The admittedly genuine letter is written in ink, misspells the Judge’s name, and contains figures different from those in the disputed letter, which is in pencil, correctly spells the Judge’s name, and gives internal evidence of having been written after checking the record.

Judge Chesnut denied receiving the disputed letter. Mrs. Riede testified that she did not recall receiving or seeing any such letter, although she always opened the Judge’s mail. She further testified that it was Judge Chesnut’s regular practice to transmit any such letter to the Clerk, with a covering letter or memorandum, and to reply to the writer.

Judge Chesnut’s fairness is proverbial; his scrupulousness in handling his correspondence with prisoners is an example to all judges. It is incredible that he would have failed to transmit such a letter to the Clerk.

The conclusion that the disputed letter was never sent to Judge Chesnut is supported by other evidence. A copy of the genuine letter was found in defendant’s clothes by his wife, but the whereabouts of the disputed letter during the eight years before it was produced is not shown. More importantly, the disputed letter was not mentioned in (1) the motion to extend time for appeal, filed on [711]*711June 20, 1952, (2) a long letter defendant wrote Judge Chesnut on July 9, 1952, (3) a letter defendant wrote the Judge on December 3, 1952, in which he mentioned the genuine letter, (4) the motion which he filed in 1958, (5) the appeal from the ruling thereon, or (6) any of the motions which he filed in 1959.

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Related

United States v. Robert E. Funkhouser
299 F.2d 940 (Fourth Circuit, 1962)
United States v. Funkhouser
299 F.2d 940 (Fourth Circuit, 1962)

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Bluebook (online)
198 F. Supp. 708, 9 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1815, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5682, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-funkhouser-mdd-1961.