United States v. Willard Jones

334 F.2d 809, 1964 U.S. App. LEXIS 4810
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedJuly 7, 1964
Docket13854_1
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 334 F.2d 809 (United States v. Willard Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh 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. Willard Jones, 334 F.2d 809, 1964 U.S. App. LEXIS 4810 (7th Cir. 1964).

Opinion

MAJOR, Circuit Judge.

This case presents the sole question as to whether appellant (defendant) has been placed in double jeopardy by reason of the prosecution forming the basis for this appeal, in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 1

Defendant, on July 16,1957, was charged in a four-count indictment (No. 57 CR 461) with substantive violations of the narcotic laws: Count 1, selling 43 grains of heroin in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 4705(a) to agent R. J. Taylor on April 17,1957; Count 2, receiving and concealing (possessing) 43 grains of heroin on April 17, 1957, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 174; Count 3, receiving and concealing (possessing) 20 ounces of heroin on April 25, 1957, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 174, and Count 4, receiving and concealing (possessing) 634 grains of cocaine on April 25, 1957, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 174.

After a trial to the Court, defendant was found guilty as charged and sentenced to a statutory minimum of five years’ imprisonment, from which he did not appeal. He commenced serving such sentence at a Federal penitentiary on April 1, 1958.

On September 2, 1959, while defendant was in prison, an indictment (No. 59 CR 571) was returned against him and eight other persons, charging them with conspiring to violate Sec. 2(c) of the Narcotic Drugs Import and Export Act, 21 U.S.C. § 174, for the period commencing January 1, 1952 and continuing to the date of the return of the indictment. Defendant completed serving his sentence on August 25, 1961 (time off for good behavior), but on May 9, 1960, he had been arraigned and entered a not guilty plea to the second indictment. The second trial was held from February 20 to March 8, 1962. On February 24, 1962, defendant Jones filed a motion to dismiss the indictment as to him on the ground of former jeopardy, which the Court took under advisement and denied subsequent to the jury verdict returned March 8, 1962, finding all defendants guilty. ■

On May 22, 1962, the Court entered judgment as to all defendants and sentenced Jones to another statutory minimum five-year sentence. From this judgment the instant appeal comes to this Court. 2

In the meantime, five of the other named conspirators appealed to this Court, which affirmed the judgment as to them. United States v. Green et al., 7 Cir., 327 F.2d 715. The questions raised on that appeal, as shown by the opinion, are immaterial to that raised by Jones on the present appeal. No question is raised here as to the sufficiency of the evidence to support the judgment against Jones and, as stated, the sole contention urged is that hé has been twice put in jeopardy by the conspiracy prosecution.

Defendant in this Court has been represented by Mr. Ware Adams, a mem *811 ber of the Chicago Bar, as Court-appointed counsel, who in support of his contention makes an impressive and challenging presentation. Even though we conclude after careful consideration that it must be rejected, we think it merits more than cursory discussion.

The substance of defendant’s contention is shown by the following statement from his brief:

“Both indictments concerned the ‘same criminal conduct’ — the violation of federal narcotics laws and particularly 21 U.S.C. Sec. 174. The double prosecution for violating this statute enforced only a single ‘federal interest’. The second prosecution was a successive, federal conviction. No offense occurred after the first trial. Indeed, Jones was incarcerated during the entire time after the first trial, except for the period from August 25, 1961, to the date of the second trial in February, 1962.”

It is not open to doubt but that the substantive offenses charged in the first indictment and the conspiracy charged in the second are separate and distinct offenses, and that there would have been no double jeopardy if all had been charged and tried in a single case.

Of the many cases which support this premise, a quotation from Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 643, 66 S.Ct. 1180, 1182, 90 L.Ed. 1489, will suffice:

“It has been long and consistently recognized by the Court that the commission of the substantive offense and a conspiracy to commit it are separate and distinct offenses. The power of Congress to separate the two and to affix to each a different penalty is well established. Clune v. United States, 159 U.S. 590, 594, 595 [16 S.Ct. 125, 126, 40 L.Ed. 269], A conviction for the conspiracy may be had though the substantive offense was completed. See Heike v. United States, 227 U.S. 131, 144 [33 S.Ct. 226, 228, 57 L.Ed. 450]. And the plea of double jeopardy is no defense to a conviction for both offenses. Carter v. McClaughry, 183 U.S. 365, 395 [22 S.Ct. 181, 193, 46 L.Ed. 236]. It is only an identity of offenses which is fatal. See Gavieres v. United States, 220 U.S. 338, 342 [31 S.Ct. 421, 422, 55 L.Ed. 489].”

While in Pinkerton the substantive and conspiracy charges were contained in the same indictment, the Court held there was no double jeopardy because the offenses were separate and distinct. We discern no reason to think that offenses separate and distinct when charged .in the same indictment are otherwise when charged separately. The Carter case cited in Pinkerton on double jeopardy relied heavily upon Morey v. Commonwealth, 108 Mass. 433, a much cited and often quoted case. The Court in Morey stated:

“A single act may be an offense against two statutes; and if each statute requires proof of an additional fact which the other does not„ an acquittal or conviction under either statute does not exempt the defendant from prosecution and punishment under the other.”

In the instant situation, each of the statutes involved in the first and second prosecutions requires proof of an additional fact or facts different from theY others. This is the basis for holding that they are separate and distinct offenses.

Defendant relies upon four cases in support of his contention: Maraker v. United States, 370 U.S. 723, 82 S.Ct. 1573, 8 L.Ed.2d 803; Petite v. United States, 361 U.S. 529, 80 S.Ct. 450, 4 L.Ed.2d 490; Abbate v. United States, 359 U.S. 187, 196, 79 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
334 F.2d 809, 1964 U.S. App. LEXIS 4810, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-willard-jones-ca7-1964.