United States v. Stewart

344 F. Supp. 1250, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13550
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedMay 26, 1972
DocketNo. 66 Cr 58(A)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 344 F. Supp. 1250 (United States v. Stewart) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Stewart, 344 F. Supp. 1250, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13550 (E.D. Mo. 1972).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

HARPER, District Judge.

On April 13, 1966, Paul Washington Kibby and Charles R. Stewart were indicted (Case No. 66 Cr. 58 [1]). Both defendants were represented by Harry Roth. We are only concerned with Charles R. Stewart, who was indicted in Counts 5, 6, 7 and 8. After a plea of not guilty and the disposal of various motions, a jury was waived and the Court tried the case on May 23, 1966. Stewart was found guilty as charged in each of Counts 5 and 6.

On May 31, 1966, a motion was filed on Stewart’s behalf for judgment of acquittal or in the alternative for a new trial, which motion was presented to the Court on June 3, 1966, overruled, and Stewart was sentenced under each of Counts 5 and 6 to twenty years, the term under each count to run concurrently with each other, Stewart having previously been guilty of violation of the drug laws.

The case was appealed and affirmed (Kibby v. United States, 372 F.2d 598, 8th Cir., cert. den’d 387 U.S. 931, 87 S.Ct. 2055, 18 L.Ed.2d 993). Thereafter, on July 5, 1967, a motion for new trial was filed by Charles R. Stewart on the grounds of newly discovered evidence. The pertinent part of the motion for new trial filed on July 5th is as follows:

“4. The evidence now available to the defendant was not available to him at the time of trial and has come into the possession of his attorney and of the defendant since the petition for certiorari was filed and rejected.
“5. During the trial it became important as to whether Agent Patch was in a position to see or could see, and did in fact see who, if anyone, came into the room or hallway of witness Brown’s home on the 22nd of March, 1966, to deliver heroin and to receive a sum of money, namely $600.-00. The Court, during the trial and at the time of making his findings, made a point of the fact that he was relying on the testimony that the Agent, Mr. Patch, was able to and had seen who was in Brown’s house that day.
“6. At the time of trial and not until very recently the defendant did not have any evidence that Mr. Patch could not have seen the person who delivered the heroin on March 22, [1251]*12511966, in the home of Brown. He now has such evidence and desires to have the opportunity to bring it forward to prove his innocence.
“7. The defendant believes that it was known to the government agents, investigators and attorneys that Agent Patch was in no position to see who came into Brown’s house on March 22, 1966, and that Mr. Brown would have and did testify to anything he was told to say at the time of the trial, because he was under fear of reprisal from the government agents if he failed to supply evidence against defendant Stewart and others.
“8. The defendant submits that through no fault of his own and not. due to his negligence nor the negligence of his trial counsel, but rather due to the conduct of the government agents, attorneys, and prosecution team, the defendant was unable to secure at the first trial, the evidence presently available to him. This new evidence is now available to him and to this court, as indicated by affidavit to be filed. The defendant further states that these facts came to his knowledge and possession recently and since the writ of certiorari was applied for and rejected by the Supreme Court of the United States.
“9. If all this evidence had been available to the defendant at the time of the first trial, any impartial judge or jury would have acquitted the defendant.”

On June 5, 1970, the motion for new trial filed on July 5, 1967, was heard by the Court. The delay in hearing the motion was as a result of frequent requests by Stewart’s counsel for postponement of the hearing for various reasons. The Court is frank to admit that it should have required an earlier hearing.

On July 9, 1970, the Court filed its memorandum opinion and order overruling the motion, from which an appeal was taken, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the case to the District Court (445 F.2d 897). In the opinion, 1. c. 901, the court said:

“In the light of all circumstances, we think that Brown’s serious charge that a government agent framed Stewart warrants a remand for a specific finding as to whether or not Brown and Patch testified falsely at Stewart’s trial. Accordingly, we remand this case to the district court to make an appropriate finding of fact upon the merits of the motion and to determine whether Stewart can present a case for a new trial under the rule that
“(1) the evidence must be in fact newly discovered, that is, discovered since the trial; (2) facts must be alleged from which the court may infer diligence on the part of the movant; (3) the evidence relied upon must not be merely cumulative or impeaching; (4) it must be material to the issues involved, and (5) it must be of such nature that, on a new trial, the newly discovered evidence would probably produce an acquittal. [United States v. Pope, 415 F.2d 685, 691 (8th Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 950, 90 S.Ct. 973, 25 L.Ed.2d 132 (1970).]
“We add an observation concerning the state of the record. The full text of Brown’s statement to the government investigators has not been disclosed to Stewart’s counsel (see n. 2, supra). At the option of the prosecution, Stewart’s counsel should be permitted to see those parts of the statement which are relevant to Stewart’s motion in order to afford him the opportunity to stipulate with the prosecutor that Brown, if called, would testify in accordance with his affidavit as supplemented by his statements to the government investigators. Alternatively, the court should issue a writ of habeas corpus and testificandum compelling Brown to testify in court.”

Following the remanding of the ease, the Court consulted with Stewart’s at[1252]*1252torneys, the full text of Brown’s statement (Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1) was made available to the attorneys, with the admonition that they should not disclose to anyone that part of it that pertained to persons other than Stewart, and it was requested that they advise the Court as to whether or not they would be agreeable to resubmitting the motion for new trial on the basis of the statement, or if they wanted Dudley Brown to be called as a witness at a hearing. The Court was thereafter advised that they would not agree to the use of the statement only, but insisted that Brown be brought before the Court to testify at a hearing.

After the Court of Appeals handed down the Stewart decision, they shortly thereafter handed down opinions in Paul W. Kibby (71-1074) and Carl McFadden (71-1397), respectively, indicating in the opinions that the post-conviction proceedings in those two cases and this case could be handled in one hearing.

After being advised by attorneys for Stewart that they wanted a hearing with Dudley Brown present, this Court issued a writ and had Charles R. Stewart, Paul W. Kibby and Carl McFadden returned to the court for a hearing. Charles R.

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Related

McWilliams v. United States
360 F. Supp. 470 (E.D. Missouri, 1973)
McFadden v. United States
343 F. Supp. 402 (E.D. Missouri, 1972)
Kibby v. United States
344 F. Supp. 1256 (E.D. Missouri, 1972)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
344 F. Supp. 1250, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13550, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-stewart-moed-1972.