United States v. Laub

253 F. Supp. 433
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJune 13, 1966
Docket64-CR-137
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 253 F. Supp. 433 (United States v. Laub) 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
United States v. Laub, 253 F. Supp. 433 (E.D.N.Y. 1966).

Opinion

ZAVATT, Chief Judge.

This case relates to a trip to Cuba made by fifty-eight American citizens who departed from the United States in June 1963 via air transportation out of Idle-wild International Airport (now known as Kennedy International Airport and hereinafter referred to as Kennedy Airport) ; entered Cuba, where they remained for approximately two months; returned therefrom to the United States, entering at Kennedy Airport on August 30, 1963.

The defendants were indicted, charged with having conspired among themselves and with Salvatore Cucchiari and Ellen Irene Shallit (named as co-conspirators but not as defendants) to induce, recruit and arrange for the group to depart from the United States for the Republic of Cuba “without bearing a valid passport for the Republic of Cuba,” and to violate 8 U.S.C. § 1185(b) 1 and regulations issued thereunder. See notes 27, 28, 32, in *435 fra. The indictment also charges the defendants Laub, Luce and Martinot with having departed from the United States for the Republic of Cuba and with having entered the United States “without bearing a valid passport.” 2 For the reasons hereinafter stated, the court is compelled to find the defendants Laub, Martinot and Schlosser not guilty on the counts of the indictment in and by which they are charged, i. e., Counts One, Three and Five as to the defendant Laub; Counts One, Two and Seven as to the defendant Martinot; Count One as to the defendant Schlosser. The indictment is still pending as to the defendant Luce. See note 2, supra.

The evidence on the trial suggests that, had the matter been so presented, a grand jury might well have indicted some or all of the four defendants for (1) having knowingly made false statements in their applications for permission to depart from the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1185(a) (3) ; 3 (2) for having made false statements in their applications for passports, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1542; (3) for having used their passports, the issue of which was secured by reason of false statements, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1542; 4 “(4) for having conspired to induce others to make false statements in their applications for passports, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1542.” The evidence suggests, further, that a grand jury might well have indicted at least the defendant Laub, charging him with having acted as the agent of a foreign principal without having filed a registration statement with the Attorney General, in violation of Subchapter II of Chapter 11 of Title 22, United States Code. 5 Nevertheless, an indictment was sought and obtained charging the defendants only with alleged violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1185(b) and “the regulations is *436 sued thereunder” and with a conspiracy to violate the same.

THE FACTS

The United States severed diplomatic relations with Castro’s Communist Cuba on January 3, 1961. We became aware of Cuba-Russia missile activities in Cuba in October 1962. Pres.Procl. 3504, October 23, 1962, 3 CFR 232 (1959-1963 Comp.). It may or may not be a mere coincidence that the defendants Laub and Martinot organized the so-called “Ad Hoc Student Committee for Travel to Cuba” at a meeting held in an unspecified place in New York City on October 14, 1962; that the defendant Schlosser became identified with this movement shortly thereafter ; that, during the missile crisis and in December 1962, the name of the Committee was changed to “Permanent Student Committee for Travel to Cuba”; that the Committee attempted to recruit and organize a group of United States citizens to depart for Cuba in December 1962. This plan aborted when Canada refused them permission to depart therefrom by plane for Cuba. By coincidence the trial of the defendants Laub, Martinot and Schlosser occurred during the mass exodus from Cuba of native citizens who abandoned all of their worldly possessions, separated from close relatives and lifelong friends and risked the perils of the sea in small boats in order to escape from the “blessings” of Castro’s Communist Cuba for a new birth of freedom in the United States of America. The mass exodus still continues as this opinion is being written.

The intention of the defendants Laub, Martinot and Schlosser to depart from the United States for the purpose of entering Cuba and to induce others to do likewise was open, notorious, with an awareness of 8 U.S.C. § 1185(b), the regulations of the Secretary of State (hereinafter the Secretary), his regulations, his policy declaration- of January 16, 1961, infra, and the interpretation of § 1185, said regulations and said declaration by the Department of State (hereinafter the Department).

At the meeting of October 14, 1962, those present claimed that there were contradictions in “certain press reports * * * about Cuba”; they expressed their determination to make a trip to Cuba for the alleged purpose of seeing and evaluating the situation and “to attempt to form as objective and as complete an opinion * * * of the Cuban situation” as they could. Five days later, on October 19, 1962, the defendant Schlosser applied in writing to the Department for validation of his passport 6 “for travel to Cuba during the forthcoming Christmas vacation.” Having received no reply, he wrote to the Department on November 16, 1962, stating: “I have received and accepted an invitation from the Cuban Federation of University Students to spend my Christmas holidays in Cuba.” His request was denied by letter dated November 16, 1962:

“Exceptions to the general policy of limiting travel by United States citizens to Cuba are made only in cases of extreme emergency requiring the immediate presence of the applicant in Cuba. It is not considered that your request comes within the criteria.”

Undaunted, Schlosser advised the Department, by letter dated December 5, 1962:

“Nevertheless, I have accepted an invitation issued by the Cuban Federation of University Students, and I intend to make- the trip as originally planned. Therefore, please clarify what is meant by ‘general policy.' On what legal grounds is this policy based? what [sic] will be the legal ramifications of my actually making the trip without United States passport validation?”

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Related

United States v. Laub
385 U.S. 475 (Supreme Court, 1967)

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Bluebook (online)
253 F. Supp. 433, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-laub-nyed-1966.