United States v. Hutchins

26 F. Cas. 442, 1 Cin. L. Bull. 371
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern Ohio
DecidedJuly 1, 1876
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 26 F. Cas. 442 (United States v. Hutchins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Hutchins, 26 F. Cas. 442, 1 Cin. L. Bull. 371 (circtsdoh 1876).

Opinion

SWING, District Judge

(charging jury). The first count charges that Rue P. Hutch-ins. Andrew Cochran, Thomas L. Wiswall, Henry Bryant. Samuel Bennet, William F. C. [443]*443Eiehmeyer, John Horn, Benjamin F. Kaufman, John C. AÍitchell and Adam M. Link, on the first day of January, A. D. 1874, conspired together, with other persons unknown, to defraud the United States of its revenue under the internal revenue law, to wit, taxes on distilled spirits; and in pursuance of said conspiracy, and to effect the object thereof, that Rue P. Hutchins did open and enter the cistern room connected with the distillery of Andrew Cochran, known as distillery No. 6, at Tippecanoe, in the absence of the gau-ger assigned to the charge of said cistern room; and in further pursuance of said conspiracy and to effect the object thereof, the said Andrew Cochran did remove certain, to wit, ten packages of distilled spirits from said distillery, which had not been duly inspected, marked and stamped, as required by law; and in further pursuance of said conspiracy, and to effect the object thereof, the said Henry Bryant, being then and there employed as a hand at a certain rectifying establishment of Horn & Kaufman in said town of Tippecanoe, having emptied ten barrels of distilled spix-its in said rectifying establishment, did not destroy the marks and brands thereon; and in further pursuance of said conspiracy, and to effect the object thereof, the said Andrew Cochran removed ten empty barrels from the rectifying establishment of Horn & Kaufman to said distiller}', with the marks and brands and stamps thereon theretofore affixed before removal from the distillery; and in further pursuance of said conspiracy, and to effect the object thereof, the said William F. C. Eiehmeyer did open and enter the cistern room connected with said distillery No. 6, in the absence of the gauger assigned to said room.

The second count in the indictment is nol-lied.

The third count charges that the defendants, on the first day of January, 1874. unlawfully removed one hundred barrels of distilled spirits, on which the tax imposed had not been paid, from the distillery of Andrew Cochran, No. C, at Tippecanoe, to a place other than the distillery warehouse provided by law.

The fourth count charges that the defendant, on the first day of June. 1875, removed one hundred barrels of distilled spirits, on which the tax imposed had not been paid, from the distiller}' of Andrew Cochran, known as .distillery No. 4, at Tippecanoe, to a place other than the distillery warehouse provided by law.

The fifth count charges that Andrew Cochran, on the first day of January, 1874, unlawfully removed one hundred barrels of distilled spirits, on which the tax imposed had not been paid, from his distillery at Tippecanoe. known as No. 6, to a place other than the distillery warehouse px-ovided by law; and the other defendants aided and abetted in said removal,

The sixth count chai-ges that Andrew Cochran, on the first, day of June, 1875, unlawfully i-emoved one hundred barrels of distilled spirits,’on which the tax imposed had not been paid, from his distillery No. 4, in Tippecanoe, to a place other than the distillery warehouse provided by law; and that the other defendants aided and abetted in the removal of said spirits.

The defendants Andrew Cochran, John Horn and Benjamin F. Kaufman have not been arrested, and therefore are not now upon trial; and their acts in the premises cannot be inquired into, excepting so far as to ascertain under the first count, whether any of the defendants may have conspired with either of them to defraud the government of its taxes, as charged, or whether either of them did either of the acts charged to have been done to effect that object. And under th§ fifth and sixth counts, to ascertain whether the defendant, Andrew Cochran, removed the spirits, with which the other defendants ai-e charged with aiding and abetting. As to the defendants Thomas L. Wiswall, Samuel Bennet and John C. Mitchell, the district attorney consents that you may return a verdict of not guilty; leaving the defendants Rue P. Hutchins, Henry Bryant, Wm. F. C. Eiehmeyer, and Adam M. Link, upon trial, the guilt or .innocence of whom is to be detei-uxined by you from the evidence in the case.

The indictment in the case is under two sections of the laws of the United States; the first count is under section 5440, Rev. St., the provisions of which are as follows: “If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offence against the United States, or to defraud the United States, in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such pai-ties do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, all the parties to such a conspiracy shall be liable to a penalty of not less than one thousand dollars and not more than ten thousand dollars, and to imprisonment for not more than two years.” The third, fourth, fifth and sixth counts are under section 3290. the provisions of which are as follows: “Whenever any person removes, or aids or abets in the removal, of any distilled spirits on which the tax has not been paid, to a place other than a distillery warehouse provided by law, * * * he shall be liable to a penalty of double the tax imposed on such distilled spirits so removed, and shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, and imprisoned not less than three months, nor more than .three years.”

To justify a verdict of guilty under the first count in the indictment, the evidence must establish the fact that two or more of the defendants now on trial, conspired together, or that one or more of them conspired with Cochran, Horn or Kaufman, or with some person or persons whose names were unknown to the grand jurors, to defi-axxd the government out of taxes due it xxpon distilled [444]*444spirits. Upon this branch of the count, it will be sufficient to show that two or more of the four defendants now on trial conspired together, or that they or any of them conspired with the defendants Cochran, Horn or Kaufman, or with a person or persons whose names are unknown, to defraud the government as alleged; and the evidence must further show that some one of the acts charged to have been done to effect the object of the conspiracy was committed by one of the defendants, as charged in this count. The word “conspire” means “to agree, to confederate, to combine"; so that the conspiracy charged in this case would be an agreement, or combination, to defraud the government of the taxes imposed upon distilled spirits. I cannot give you a better idea of the evidence necessary to establish this than by reading you what is said by Mr. Greenleaf upon that subject: “The evidence in proof of a conspiracy will generally, from the nature of the case, be circumstantial. Though the common design is the essence of the charge, it is not necessary to prove that the defendants came together and actually agreed in terms, to have that design, and to pursue it by common means. If it be proved that the defendants pursued by their acts the same object, often by the same- means, one performing one part and another another part of the same, so as to complete it, with a view to the attainment of that same object, the jury will be justified in the conclusion that they were engaged in a conspiracy. Nor is it necessary to prove that the conspiracy originated with the defendants, or that they met during the process of its concoction; for every person entering into a conspiracy or common design already formed is deemed in law a party to all acts done by any of the other parties, before or afterwards, in furtherance of the common design.” 3 Greenl.

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Related

Merrill v. United States
40 F.2d 315 (Fifth Circuit, 1930)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
26 F. Cas. 442, 1 Cin. L. Bull. 371, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hutchins-circtsdoh-1876.