United States v. Klissas

218 F. Supp. 880, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7549
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedJune 19, 1963
DocketCr. A. No. 25847
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 218 F. Supp. 880 (United States v. Klissas) 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. Klissas, 218 F. Supp. 880, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7549 (D. Md. 1963).

Opinion

R. DORSEY WATKINS, District Judge.

Defendant is charged in an amended one-count information with violation of U.S.C.A. Title 8, Section 1282, in that he, a citizen of Greece and an alien crewman of the Steamship PEGASOS, was found in the District of Maryland on or about November 27, 1961, after having wilfully remained in the United States in excess of the number of days allowed in a conditional permit to land issued to him at Newport News, Virginia, on October 23, 1957. He was arraigned and pleaded Not Guilty.

Thereafter a motion was filed to suppress a statement signed by defendant on [881]*881November 28, 1961 at about 1:00 a. m. upon the ground that defendant was then illegally detained without a warrant of arrest, and that the said statement was taken contrary to the Fourth Amendment and the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. This motion was heard by the late Judge Chesnut on June 8, 1962 and overruled, without prejudice. The case was later assigned to the undersigned for trial, and the motion was renewed. In the absence of a proffer of new evidence the court would probably have been justified, on the basis of United States v. Whiting, 4 Cir. 1962, 311 F.2d 191, 196, cert. den. 1963, 372 U.S. 935, 83 S.Ct. 882, 9 L.Ed.2d 766, in accepting Judge Chesnut’s ruling as final. Instead, the court heard the motion de novo, and at the conclusion thereof made oral findings of fact and conclusions of law, and entered an order denying the motion.

The case was then tried before a jury, which on the third day of trial returned a verdict of guilty. The jury was polled, adhering to its verdict, which was then recorded and the jury excused. Immediately thereafter, counsel for defendant filed and argued a motion in arrest of judgment, and motion for judgment of acquittal. These motions were denied by the court.

Within five days defendant filed a “Motion to Set Aside Verdict, for Judgment of Acquittal and/or for a New Trial,” on the grounds that:

“1. The Court lacked power to amend the information herein and try defendant without arraigning him anew.
“2. Inadmissible evidence highly prejudicial to defendant was received at the trial over defendant’s objections.
“3. As a matter of law, a reasonable doubt exists as to whether defendant was issued a conditional permit on October 23, 1957.”

Of these, the second is the only one discussed at any length in the briefs filed in lieu of oral argument.

1. Amendment of the Information.

On the second day of the trial the Government moved for leave to amend the Information to change the date of issuance of the conditional permit from October 24, 1957 to September 10, 1957. No objection was offered, and the change was made by the court by interlineation.

At the court’s suggestion, renewed efforts were made to obtain the manifests of the Steamship PEGASOS for September-October 1957. Certified copies were available on the morning of the third day of trial. From these it was clear that defendant had departed within twenty-nine days (the required time) of September 10, 1957, had re-entered October 23, 1957, and that under established practice his conditional entry permit would have been so dated. The Government then moved to amend the information to change the place of issuance from Norfolk, Virginia to Newport News, Virginia, and to change the amended date of September 10, 1957 [originally October 24, 1957] to October 23, 1957. Over the objections of counsel for defendant, the court allowed the amendments, which were physically made. This is the background on which it is contended that the amendments charge a new offense, for which defendant was not re-arraigned.

Counsel for defendant did not claim surprise, or ask for a continuance or postponement. The second amendment could scarcely have come as a surprise, since:

(a) In the Information as filed, the entry date was given as October 24,1957.

(b) In his signed statement, defendant referred to his entry as October 24, 1957.1

(c) There was testimony that the original of a conditional entry permit [1-95; also sometimes called D-l] is given to [882]*882and retained by the alien, and that notations with regard to “revalidation” or subsequent entries are made on this copy only, and no notation is made on the “manifold” copy retained by the Government.2 In court, defendant’s counsel made an obvious comparison of the Government’s manifold copy of the 1-95 issued to defendant with what had every appearance of being the original in defendant’s possession. The Government called for the original, which was understandably refused.

Under the circumstances, there was no surprise, no substantial right of defendant was prejudiced, and the allowanee of the amendment was within the court’s discretion. U.S.A.C. Transport v. United States, 10 Cir. 1953, 203 F.2d 878, 880, cert. den. 1953, 345 U.S. 997, 73 S.Ct. 1139, 97 L.Ed. 1403, reh. den. 1953, 346 U.S. 842, 74 S.Ct. 16, 98 L.Ed. 362; Fredrick v. United States, 9 Cir. 1947, 163 F.2d 536, 547, cert. den. 1947, 332 U.S. 775, 68 S.Ct. 87, 92 L.Ed. 360; United States v. Smith, D.C.M.D.Pa. 1952, 107 F.Supp. 839.

The amendments did not change the gravamen of the crime — presence in Maryland after having wilfully remained in the United States in excess of the number of days allowed in the conditional permit issued to him. Defendant’s presence in Maryland on November 27, 1961 was established. That date was more than twenty-nine days after September 10, 1957, October 23, 1957, or October 24, 1957.

2. Admissibility of Evidence.

(a) Government Exhibit 4, Certificate as to Male Registry.

This was issued by the Mayor of Poros, Greece certifying that “KLISSAS Georgios, son of Panagiotes, Greek subject, is registered in our Matriculation Book under S/N 18 and year of birth 1916 at Poros Island, Greece.

“The present document is issued upon the applicant’s request for any use.”

The American Vice Counsul in his certification describes the document as:

“Record of Birth of Georgios Kleisas, son of Panaghiotis, issued by the Mayor of Poros, Greece”

subscribed by the Chief of Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, “and that by virtue of said office he is emPowered to certify, under the seal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, bo the authenticity of the signatures and bo the competency of officials of the Greek Government . . .

Although an English translation of the registration record was offered, a Greek interpreter employed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service was called as a witness and translated the original Greek, first at the Bench, and then from the stand. The witness professed to having seen many such documents, and when asked by defendant’s counsel on cross-examination what the document in question was, responded that it was a “birth certificate.”

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Bluebook (online)
218 F. Supp. 880, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7549, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-klissas-mdd-1963.