United States v. Wain

162 F.2d 60, 1947 U.S. App. LEXIS 3161
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedJune 11, 1947
DocketNo. 196, Docket 20479
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 162 F.2d 60 (United States v. Wain) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second 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. Wain, 162 F.2d 60, 1947 U.S. App. LEXIS 3161 (2d Cir. 1947).

Opinion

AUGUSTUS N. HAND, Circuit Judge.

The defendant Wain was indicted and tried under Count 2 of an indictment reading as follows:

Leslie Murray Wain, Jesse Norden, Irving Weintraub, and Universal Camera Corporation, hereinafter called the defendants beginning on or about the 15th day of May, 1944 and continuing thereafter up to December 18, 1944, both dates inclusive, in the County of Queens, City, State and Eastern District of New York, within the jurisdiction of this Court, did unlawfully, wilfully and knowingly omit and refrain from disclosing to the Local Board duly exercising jurisdiction of defendant, Leslie Murray Wain, for service under the provisions of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules regulations and directions made pursuant thereto said defendant, Leslie Murray Wain, being then and there a person duly registered pursuant to the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 (Title 50, Appendix, United States Code, Sections 301-318 [50 U.S. C.A. Appendix, §§ 301-318]), as amended, the Proclamation of the President of the United States duly issued and promulgated pursuant to said Act, and the Regulations duly issued and promulgated pursuant to said Act; that is to say: during the aforesaid period said defendants wilfully, knowingly and deliberately omitted and refrained from disclosing to the Local Board duly-exercising jurisdiction in that behalf, the fact that said defendant, Leslie Murray Wain, was not from September 3, 1944 to December 18, 1944 employed by the Universal Camera Corporation, and that the employment of, said Leslie Murray Wain, had terminated on or about September 3, 1944; against the peace and dignity of the United States and contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided (Title 50, United States Code, Appendix, Section '311 [50 U.S.C.A, Appendix, § 311]).” 1

The defendants Jesse Norden, Irving Weintraub and Universal Camera Company were severed from the indictment, so that Wain was tried alone.

The defendant Wain waived a jury and was tried before Judge Abruzzo. After judgment of conviction and a sentence to six months imprisonment, on motion of the government the indictment was dismissed as to the other defendants.

The question before us is whether Wain —who had been classified by the local board [62]*62in Class II-B because found to be a “necessary man” in war production, or found by reason of his occupation to be “making a contribution” to war production — failed to report to the local board in writing any fact that might result in his being placed in a different classification. The pertinent Selective Service Regulations are set forth below.2

Wain registered with his local board on October 16, 1940, and on January 10, 1941, stated in his questionaire that he was born on August 23, 1913, was married, and had one son and (in his affidavit) that he had worked as a traveling salesman for New York Merchandising Company since March 1933. On January 20, 1941, he was classified III-A. In a letter of August 31, 1943, the chairman of his board wrote him that if he was engaged in an activity that contributed to the war effort and claimed deferment because of it Form 42A must be furnished by his employer. He replied to the chairman — by letter of September 3— that he was employed by the New York Merchandising. Company which held 50% of the stock of the Universal Camera Company, hereinafter termed “Universal.” He had then been working for the Merchandising Company as manager of its China and Rug Department for about two years at a salary of $75 per week. Apparently, because the board regarded the Merchandising Company as not contributing to the war effort, it reclassified him in I-A as available for military service. On November 1, 1943, he wrote the local board that he was starting to do war work for Universal which had begun to turn out binoculars for the Army, Navy, Marines and Canadian Government, and on November 26, 1943, after a hearing, he was reclassified in II-A because of his war work with Universal. On May 24, 1944, the board reclassified him in II-B for a period expiring on November 22, 1944, and so notified him and Universal.

When Wain went to work for Universal he was employed on its night shift from 3:30 P. M. to 12 M. as a supervisor of the assembly prism line, but continued working during the day with the Merchandising Company, where his hours were reduced from forty to twenty-seven, and his salary from $75 to $50.

In the middle of July 1944, defendant left Universal on temporary sick leave, but retained his pob with the Merchandising Company, where he again worked forty hours per week and received a salary of $75 a week. On August 8, 1944, he returned to Universal and worked there until September 2, 1944. During this last period of work for Universal his working hours for the Merchandising Company were again reduced to twenty-seven hours and his salary from the latter to $50 per week. On September 2, 1944-, he left Universal because, there was no work for him, and he was not reemployed by it until December 18, 1944. During that interval he again worked forty hours per week for Merchandising Company at $75 a week. While working for Universal he testified at a hearing on December 20, 1944 that he received from [63]*63them from $38 to $41 per week. He admitted that he worked for Universal to obtain deferment from military service.

According to the testimony of FBI agent Monticone, Wain told him that he knew he should advise his local board that he was no longer employed by Universal after September 2, 1944, but he “expected to be called back to work at any time, and therefore did not advise his board.”

While Wain said at one time during the trial that he was “tired, weak, fatigued” and obtained a doctor’s certificate in December 1944 that he had “had a nervous breakdown,” was advised to rest and was still under the doctor’s care, yet he thereupon returned to work with Universal, worked there until August 1945, and his attorney stated to the court that he was not sick during that period but that “the story of sickness is something that was invented by somebody else and imputed to him * * *” (fols. 260, 261). His work with Universal terminated September 2, 1944, when the contract of that company with the government — on which he was working —was completed. He did not notify the local board when he ceased to work for Universal on September 2, 1944 and after being advised by Universal that he had been forced to take a leave of absence owing to ill health the local board wrote him on December 11, 1944, that they did “not see anything else to do, under these circumstances but to reclassify you to Class I-A and send you to the induction center for a physical examination. Under Selective Service Rules and Regulations you should have advised this board of your change in status.”

Under such circumstances there was-ample ground for inferring that Wain did not report his change of status to the local board after September 2, because he feared loss of his II-B classification. His neglect to notify the board for such a long period as two and one-half months, coupled with his attempt to excuse his failure by submission of a false doctor’s certificate, justified a finding that he knowingly violated Regulation 626.1(b) requiring a report in writing of any fact that might result in his being placed in a different classification. It is significant that his own attorney stated that during the period between September 2 and December 18, 1944, he was not sick (fol. 261).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
162 F.2d 60, 1947 U.S. App. LEXIS 3161, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-wain-ca2-1947.