United States v. Leo Quimby

636 F.2d 86, 47 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 718, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 20496
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 2, 1981
Docket79-5572
StatusPublished
Cited by57 cases

This text of 636 F.2d 86 (United States v. Leo Quimby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Leo Quimby, 636 F.2d 86, 47 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 718, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 20496 (5th Cir. 1981).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Defendant, Leo Quimby, appeals judgment entered on a jury conviction for two counts of willfully failing to supply information regarding gross income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203. He asserts on appeal (i) his arrest warrant was not supported by a showing of probable cause under oath pursuant to F.R.Crim.P. 9(a), (ii) the Eastern District of Texas lacked jurisdiction to try his case, (iii) denial of his motion to disqualify the trial judge constituted error, (iv) the evidence presented was insufficient to support a finding of guilt against him, and (v) District Court erred in refusing to give his requested jury charge. Finding all his contentions without merit, we affirm.

*88 I.

Quimby had filed a valid tax return for 1972. In 1974, however, Quimby was notified by the IRS his Form 1040 submitted for 1973 was not acceptable as an income tax return and failure to file the required return would subject him to prosecution. Quimby again failed to file a valid Form 1040 for the tax year 1974.

For the tax years of 1975 and 1976, Quimby earned a gross income of $7,524 and $7,992, respectively, while employed at the Rusk State Hospital in Rusk, Texas, which after subtracting his wife’s community portion showed Quimby earned a gross income of $3,762 in 1975 and $3,996 in 1976. These amounts of gross income required him to file federal income tax returns for 1975 and 1976.

Quimby submitted an IRS Form 1040 for both 1975 and 1976. The 1975 form, however, contained no financial information from which his tax liability could be computed. Rather, the form disclosed only his name, address, and other basic identifying information before revealing the words “Fifth Amendment Claimed Against Self-Incrimination” in the blank for filling in wages. In addition, attached to the form with various other materials was a statement with Quimby’s signature' protesting the tax laws. Similarly, the Form 1040 submitted for 1976 was not signed but contained the following statement at the bottom of the first page:

I refuse to sign this instrument, which it is believed that nobody understands, because it would tend to incriminate me or my property, therefore, I claim the Fifth Amendment in declining to do so. . .

Consequently, Quimby was charged by information in the Northern District of Texas with two counts of willfully violating 26 U.S.C. § 7203 for the calendar years 1975 and 1976. The information was neither verified nor supported by affidavit. It contained a brief statement of the facts underlying the crimes charged and was signed by an Assistant United States Attorney. On August 3, 1978, Quimby filed a motion to dismiss the information on many grounds, one of which was that neither the arrest warrant nor the information was supported by probable cause. In response, the government filed an affidavit executed on July 19, 1978, summarizing the information derived from the special agent’s investigation of Quimby’s tax liability for 1975 and 1976.

Meanwhile, on August 14, 1978, Quimby filed a motion requesting the Court to transfer the case from the Northern District to the Eastern District where Quimby allegedly resided. The government did not oppose Quimby’s motion to change venue and it was subsequently granted by the Court.

Prior to trial, Quimby filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, arguing among several other grounds, that since the alleged offense occurred in the Western District, and Quimby resided in the Eastern District, the Northern District was an improper court to institute the prosecution. Since Quimby filed the complained of tax forms in Dallas, Texas, which is within the jurisdiction of the Northern District of Texas, the motion was orally denied.

Also prior to trial, Quimby filed a motion to disqualify Judge Steger on the basis Judge Steger had a bias and prejudice against him because he had filed three lawsuits against Judge Steger. Judge Steger requested Chief Judge Woodward of the Northern District to rule on the motion. Chief Judge Woodward denied the motion because (i) it was unsupported by affidavit, and (ii) the ground alleged did not show Judge Steger had any bias and prejudice against Quimby.

Quimby then filed a second motion to disqualify Judge Steger. Attached to the motion was an exhibit indicating on May 5, 1978, Judge Steger had recused himself from a civil suit filed by Quimby. In the affidavit, Quimby swore he was not currently suing Judge Steger but he was not pleased with Judge Steger’s actions in other proceedings and “[Judge] Steger holds prejudice and bias against . . . Defendant for reasons known only to himself.” Quimby then filed a second affidavit complaining of Judge Steger’s actions in the criminal pro *89 ceeding. Judge Steger denied the motion on May 3, 1979.

On September 4, 1979, Quimby filed an amended motion to disqualify, without alleging any new grounds for disqualification. This motion was denied first orally and subsequently by a signed formal order.

The matter went to trial before a jury on September 4, 1979. A courtroom identification of Quimby was made by Rusk State Hospital co-employees who had seen him at the hospital the past seventeen years. In his defense, Quimby called several character witnesses who testified they believed Quimby did not intend to violate the law when he filed the 1040 forms for 1975 and 1976 because he believed his actions were lawful.

At the close of all the evidence, Quimby requested an elaborate, extended charge on good faith. The District Court refused, however, issuing the following instruction:

You may not treat the Defendant’s belief of the unconstitutionality of the income tax as a possible negation of criminal intent. The Defendant’s motivation in this case, the fact that he was engaged in a protest in his sincere belief that he was acting in good cause, is not an acceptable legal defense as justification.

and

... an act or omission is not willful if it was the result of negligence, inadvertence, accident or reckless disregard for the law, or due to a good faith misunderstanding by the taxpayer as to his legal obligation to supply information on a tax return.

After the jury returned a verdict of guilty, judgment was entered against Quimby on September 6, 1979. Quimby, appealed twelve days later on September 18, 1979, requesting to proceed in forma pauperis. On September 21, 1979, the District Court issued an order stating it was unnecessary for the court to grant Quimby’s request for appointed counsel and authorized him “to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis without authorization by this Court.”

Subsequently, Quimby filed a motion for summary reversal with this Court on the ground the criminal information filed in his case, and the arrest warrant based on the information, were not based on probable cause or supported by an affidavit pursuant to F.R.Crim.P. 9(a). This Court denied the motion on March 4, 1980.

II.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ronnie Jackson v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2025
United States v. Salas
Fifth Circuit, 2025
United States v. Cabrera
Fifth Circuit, 2025
Terrance Parkman v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2023
Joshua Jonathan Morales v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2022
Byron Eugene Coleman v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2022
United States v. Hammonds
Fifth Circuit, 2022
William Larry Foley v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2021
United States v. Clark
Fifth Circuit, 2021
United States v. Wells
Fifth Circuit, 2021
William Larry Foley v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Gerald Dean Ainsworth v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Vashaun Xavier Scott v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Bryan Lacy Swisher v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Charles Wayne Nelson v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Jeremy Rhynes v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Manuel Rocha Jr v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Brodniey Charles Ray v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2018
Tony Dwayne Erskine v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2017
Michael Earl Lane v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
636 F.2d 86, 47 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 718, 1981 U.S. App. LEXIS 20496, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-leo-quimby-ca5-1981.