Wion v. Willingham

252 F. Supp. 306, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6917
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedSeptember 27, 1965
DocketCiv. A. No. 9259
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 252 F. Supp. 306 (Wion v. Willingham) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wion v. Willingham, 252 F. Supp. 306, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6917 (D. Colo. 1965).

Opinion

CHILSON, District Judge.

The petitioner is now confined in the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, pursuant to a sentence imposed by this Court after the petitioner’s conviction by a jury of a violation of Title 18 U.S.C. Section 1716.

The petitioner appealed his conviction to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the conviction was affirmed. (See Wion v. United States, 10 Cir., 325 F.2d 420).

Pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. Section 2255, the petitioner has filed a motion to vacate the sentence. The Court permitted the motion to be filed in forma pauperis, ordered the respondents to file a return to the petition, and appointed Mr. John D. Ward, an attorney in Denver, Colorado, to represent the petitioner. The respondents filed a return which was traversed by the petitioner.

The matter was then set for hearing on September 17, 1965, and the Court ordered the petitioner returned for appearance in person at the hearing.

The matter came on for hearing on September 17, 1965, at which time the petitioner was present in person and by his appointed counsel, Mr. John D. Ward, and the respondents were represented by the United States Attorney, Mr. Lawrence M. Henry.

The petitioner orally moved for a continuance of the hearing to procure the attendance of witnesses. Upon inquiry by the Court the petitioner did not disclose the names and addresses of the witnesses and the nature of the testimony to be elicited from them. The Court therefore denied the motion for a continuance.

The evidence offered and received at the hearing consisted of the transcript of the trial proceedings in Criminal Action No. 16791, in which proceedings the petitioner was convicted and sentenced, and which includes the proceedings had in connection with a motion of the petitioner to suppress evidence. In addition, the petitioner gave unsworn testimony. (Although the petitioner refused to be sworn, he was permitted by the Court to take the witness stand and give unsworn testimony which does not differ in any material respects from the testimony given by the petitioner at the time of his original trial).

After receiving the evidence the Court heard the argument of counsel and took the motion under advisement.

The Court has now fully considered the evidence and argument of counsel and is now duly advised.

The grounds for the motion to vacate the sentence are that the petitioner’s federal constitutional rights were invaded by reason of the following:

(1) That on January 23, 1962, the federal postal inspectors made an illegal search of the apartment occupied by the [308]*308petitioner and his son, George Wion, and. that certain articles (three pairs of pliers admitted into evidence as Exhibits 1, 2 and 3) were illegally seized.

(2) That on January 23, 1962, federal postal inspectors searched the automobile of George Wion and took from a tool box located in the trunk of George Wion’s car a pair of pliers and a pair of “diagonal cutters”, which were admitted into evidence as Exhibits 4 and 5; that the tool box was the property of the petitioner; that the search of the tool box without a search warrant and the seizure of the pliers and diagonal cutters therefrom constituted an unreasonable search and seizure in violation of petitioner’s constitutional rights.

(3) That on January 29, 1962, federal postal inspectors made a search of the apartment which had been occupied by the petitioner and his son, George Wion, and seized some newspapers, including the two portions of newspapers which were admitted in evidence as Exhibits 29-D and 29-F.

As previously stated, the only evidence offered in support of the motion is the transcript of the proceedings in Criminal Action No. 16791 and the unsworn testimony of the petitioner which does not differ materially from his testimony in Criminal Action No. 16791.

In other words, the evidence of the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged searches and seizures which is to be considered by this Court in determining this motion is the same evidence as that which was before this Court when it admitted Exhibits 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and Exhibits 29-D and 29-F into evidence in Criminal Action No. 16791, and is the same evidence which was before the Circuit Court of Appeals when it affirmed the petitioner’s conviction.

This Court and the Circuit Court of Appeals, upon this evidence, heretofore determined that the taking of Exhibits 1, 2, and 3 from the apartment on January 23, 1962, was a seizure incident to the lawful arrest of the petitioner and was not an unreasonable search and seizure.

The petitioner urges now, as he did previously, that his arrest by the postal authorities was unlawful because the postal inspectors have no authority to make an arrest, and therefore the search and seizure was illegal. The Circuit Court of Appeals, in disposing of this contention, pointed out that Section 837 of the California Penal Code authorizes a private person to make an arrest “[w]hen a felony has been in fact committed, and he has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it”. (Wion v. United States, 325 F.2d 420 at 423). Petitioner now contends that Section 837 of the California Penal Code is unconstitutional but cites no authority therefor. This Court determines that this contention of the petitioner is without merit and reiterates that the search of the apartment on January 23, 1962 and the seizure of Exhibits 1, 2, and 3 at that time was not unreasonable or illegal.

We next consider the seizure by the postal inspectors of the pliers and cutter (Exhibits 4 and 5) from the automobile of George Wion.

No motion was made by the petitioner to suppress this evidence and no objection was made to the introduction into evidence of the two items taken from George Wion’s car, namely: Exhibits 4 and 5. (See Volume III of Transcript of Trial Proceedings, page 519). (When referring to the Transcript of Trial Proceedings, the page numbers refer to the number in the upper right hand corner of the page).

The evidence concerning the search of the George Wion car is found in the transcript of the hearing on Monday, June 18, 1962, on the defendant’s motion to suppress certain evidence, at pages 15 to 18, 22 and 23, 29 and 30, 37 and 38, and 40.1 From this evidence it appears [309]*309that the car was owned by George Wion; that the search of the car was with his consent freely and voluntarily given; that the petitioner’s tool box was in the [310]*310trunk of the George Wion car; that the tool box was unlocked; that after the removal of Exhibits 4 and 5 from the tool box the postal inspector, with George Wion, returned to the apartment where the postal inspector advised the petitioner of the search of the tool box and the removal of the pliers and diagonal cutters (Exhibits 4 and 5); the postal inspector advised the petitioner that he would like to examine these tools in connection with this case and the petitioner replied, “Okay, but you will have to give me a receipt”; that the postal inspector then [311]

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

Related

Whitehead v. Book
641 F. Supp. 2d 549 (M.D. Louisiana, 2008)
Williams v. State
534 S.W.2d 760 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1976)
People v. Benner
530 P.2d 964 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1975)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
252 F. Supp. 306, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6917, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wion-v-willingham-cod-1965.