Petition — Ganie v. United States
Supreme Court brief1976
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IN THE
Supreme Court of the Wnited States
October Term of 1975
Nn. 45-6714
JOSEPH GANIE,
Petitioner,
vs.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Respondent.
eee
Petition For A Writ oF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED
States Court oF APPEALS For THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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Of Counsel and on the Brief:
Maria MARINARI SYPEK
Gerald R. Stockman, P. A.
Broad Street Bank Building
Trenton, New Jersey 08608
GeraALp R. STOCKMAN
Attorney for Petitioner
Broad Street Bank Building
Trenton, New Jersey 08608
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SE SS rca eas Che es SRE de Oha ne Ceca awa es
Jurisdiction
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A eh san os ee ink oko hee kd
Constitution and Statutory Provisions .................
EEN SO iced SENSE a ate Sean sar Ane eae aD De
Reasons for Granting the Writ ...................205-
1.
to
Conclusion
The decision of the United States Court of Ap-
peals for the Third Circuit denied a criminal
defendant's federal constitutional right to a fair
trial in accordance with due process of law in
conflict with other Federal Court decisions ....
. The decision of the United States Court of Ap-
peals For the Third Circuit was a consideration
of a federal question not yet settled by the
United States Supreme Court ..............
. This Court has not settled the question of
whether it is a denial of due process to allow
the U. S. Attorney to dismiss a major part of
a multiple-count indictment initially presented
to the jury, the dismissal occurring before the
actual trial had commenced .................
ee gc Woee wae ds
Appendix A
Appendix B
Verdict rendered in Federal District Court of
I 6 pba 605646580 Kbabeene Rh eens
Order of Federal District Court of New Jersey
Granting New Trial Counts II and III and
Denying New trial Count [V ..............
9
il
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
PAGE
Cases:
Alcorta v. Texas, 355 U. S. ZB (1DSD) ...ccececeee 11
Berger v. United States, 295 U. S. 78 (1935) .... 13
DeMarco 7. United States, 415 U. S. 449 (1974) .. 9,12
Es porte Gatae, 121 U. S. 1 (BBRB) ..... 2.000: 13
Gunville v. United States, 386 F2d 186 (8th Cir. 1967 ) 14
Larrison v. United States, 24 F2d 82 (7th Cir. 1928) 7
McClintock v. United States, 60 F2d 839
SR, oo ne ce cede eek eeeeeenees 14
Mesarosh v. United States, 352 U. S. 1 (1956) ..... 9,10
Mooney v. Holohan, 294 U.S. 109 (1934) ........ 9,11
Nepue v. Illinois, 360 U. S. 264 (1958) .......... 9, 10, 11
Pyle v. Kansas, 317 U. S. 213 (1940) ............ 9,11
Salinger v. United States, 272 U.S. 542 (1926) .... 13
United States v. Jackson, 257 F2d 31 (3rd Cir. 1958) 6,7,8
United States v. Meyers, 484 F2d 113 (3rd Cir. 1973) 6,7
United States v. Rabb, 453 F2d 31 (3rd Cir. 1958) .. 6,8
United States Constitution
ROIS Bn iv ic cesaccteccestescesevdceesss 2
Statutes :
oh! ee 4 PveeererTrereerreereee 2
ee Wes FE GBD Kconesedetvee cease 2
y Bis tae SB . 2) PPereerrrerer eres er 2
Other Authorities:
Aschuler, The Prosecutor's Role in Plea Bargaining,
| oa Se Se Ft | eer TTrrreerere 14
Appendix C
Opinion and Judgment of U. S. Court of
Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ........... C-1
Appendix D
Constitutional and Statutory Provisions 1-1
IN THE
Supreme Court of the United States
October Term of 1975
No.
JOSEPH GANIE.
Petitioner,
vs.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Respondent.
PETITION For A Writ oF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED
STATES CourT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
OPpINions BELOW
The jury trial held in the United States District Court of
New Jersey resulted in the guilty verdict for the defendant. See
Appendix A. A motion for a new trial was held on Novem-
ber 4, 1974 at the Federal District Court of New Jersey grant-
ing a new trial on two Counts, but denying it as to the third
Count. See Appendix B. The United States Court of Appeals
For the Third Circuit affirmed the unreported finding of the Fed-
eral District Court of New Jersey on October 6, 1975 in an un-
reported opinion, see Appendix C.
JURISDICTION
The opinion of the Court below was entered on October 6,
1975.
The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked pursuant to 28
U. S. C. Sec. 1254(1).
(JUESTIONS PRESENTED
Whether the United States Court of Appeals For the Third
Circuit erred in failing to require a new trial where the initial
presentation of a Fourteen Count indictment to the jury, later
inexplicably reduced to Four Counts created an unduly preju-
dicial effect in abrogation of the Petitioner's rights of due proc-
ess. :
The United States Court of Appeals For the Third Circuit
erred in failing to grant a new trial where the jury reached its
verdict based on false and misleading testimony which was em-
phasized through a re-reading once deliberations commenced, in
derogation of the petitioner's constitutional rights guaranteed un-
der due process of law.
The United States Court of Appeals For the Third Circuit
erred in failing to grant a new trial where the totality of the
circumstanc.. surrounding the trial denied the petitioner's con-
stitutional right to a fair trial.
CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY PROVISIONS
The relevant provision of the United States Constitution
involved in this case is Amendment 5. This provision is set forth
in Appendix D. The relevant statute under which the petitioner
was convicted is 26 U. S. C., Sec. 7206(2), the body of which
is set forth in Appendix D.
STATEMENT OF CASE
Mr. Joseph Ganie and his wife, Elinor, were indicted on
April 4, 1973. A Fourteen Count indictment alleged violations
of 18 U.S. C., Sec. 371 and 26 U. S. C., Sec. 7206(2) involv-
ing conspiracy and aiding and abetting in the preparation of
false income tax returns which they knew to be false and fraudu-
lent as to material matters.
Mr. Ganie’ is a ffty-year old, black family man with four
children, who worked himself up from various jobs to his pres-
ent position as an area manpower representative of the A. F. L.-
C. 1. O. Human Resources Development Institute. In addition
to that position, Mr. Ganie, as a family venture, operates an in-
come tax service, his clientele constituting the lower middle class
to middle class worker. His service is operated from his home
and has been since 1954. Briefly, the procedures he uses are
as follows: He interviews the client, prepares the proper tax
return, reviews it with the client, has the client sign the form,
then mails the form along with any checks 's may be required to
the Internal Revenue Service. Some months later after the tax
season, he sends each client a copy of the form as submitted to
the Internal Revenue Service.
A trial date was set for June 18, 1974 to take place in
the United States District Court of New Jersey. After a two-
day delay, since the government's case was not ready, the trial
actually began June 21, 1974. At that time, the government
made a motion to dismiss all counts of the indictment against
Elinor Ganie, as well as Counts One, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine,
Ten, Eleven, Thirteen and Fourteen of the same indictment
against Joseph Ganie. This was subsequently made known to
the jury.
Up to this point, and including the trial itself, the defend-
ant had been represented by Robert R. Ross, Esq., an Attorney-
at-Law in Trenton, New Jersey. Mr. Ross, on the night of
June 20, 1974, the eve of the actual trial, experienced a great
family tragedy in the unexpected death of his mother-in-law.
The circumstances and their effect on his ability to adequately
conduct the trial the next morning are part of the record on ap-
peal through supplementary affidavits.
Despite the mental stress and strain of Mr. Ross, it was
decided that the trial! should proceed in view of the two-day
delay the jury had already experienced. The government pro-
duced in the main, four witnesses, all of whom were clients of
Mr. Ganieand allegedly victims of his false filing.
3
Count Twelve of the origina! indictment was dismissed at
the end of the government's case. Therefore, the jury considered
and rendered a verdict on a Four Count indictment. They found
defendant Ganie net guilty on Count One, and guilty on the
two counts involving Sarah Coleman, and the Fourth Count in-
volving the Dominiak return.
Dietrich, Stockman « Lake, P. A. were substituted as attor-
neys and a motion for a new trial was argued by Gerald R.
Stockman, Esq., of that firm. The Hon. George H. Barlow,
U. S. D. J. granted the motion for a new trial sought under
F. R. Crim. P. 33 on the two counts involving the Coleman
return, but denied the motion as to the Dominiak return. (Ap-
pendix B). The defendant thereafter appealed the denial of the
motion for a new trial as to the Dominiak return to the U. 5.
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. On October 6, 1975, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed
the decision of the Federal District Court of New Jersey (Ap-
pendix C).
The essential facts upon which the appeal was based and
upon which the Petition for Writ of Certiorari is now based
concerns the testimeny of Sarah Coleman and its effect on the
entire verdict, and more particularly, on the finding of guilt as
to the Dominiak Count.
Mrs. Coleman testified that Mr. Ganie had prepared her
1971 and 1972 income tax returns. She testified that she had
not told Mr. Ganie to deduct the $129.50 on her 1971 return
and the $128.70 on her 1972 return for the state and local gaso-
line tax. It was elicited on direct examination that she does not
own a car, nor does she buy gasoline for anyone else. However,
on cross, although agreeing that Mr. Ganie entered what she had
told him to enter on the return, she stated that she did not tell
him to deduct the gasoline tax and further, that it was not in-
cluded on the copy she herself received in the mail and which
she had in her possession at trial.
After the case was submitted to the jury, and after approx-
imately two hours of deliberation, without a verdict, the jury
requested a clarification: “Did Sarah Coleman testify that the
4
copy of her income tax which she had in her purse did not have
the gas deduction on it? Upon the insistence of defense counsel
not to merely answer the question directly, it was decided by
the Court to re-read the entire testimony, which was done. De-
fense counsel had argued that the deductions had to be included
on her copy given the duplicating process used by Mr. Ganie.
The Assistant U. S. Attorney maintained that his special agent
had seen a copy of the return and that the deductions were not
included. The Judge ordered the U. S. Attorney to obtain a copy
to determine the truth.
Meanwhile, the jury informed the court that they had
reached a verdict. Thus, the jury deliberated without the ben-
efit of the actual document. Subsequently, defense counsel was
informed by the U. S. Attorney that the document had been ob-
tained, and that the deductions were, in fact, included. The U. S.
Attorney, when asked by defense counsel about the special
agent's representation, claimed that he had misunderstood the
special agent and that he had merely been told by Mrs. Coleman
the deductions were not included.’
On this basis, the motion for a new trial was granted as to
the Coleman counts. As such, Mr. Ganie was sentenced to a
$1,000 fine on the Dominiak count.
Unfortunately, the record dves not reflect these events. However, the
affidavits submitted as part of the record on appeal suppert the facts as
stated herein.
P)
Reasons For GRANTING THE Writ
1 THE DECISION OF THE UNITED STATES
COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIR-
CUIT DENIED A CRIMINAL DEFENDANT'S
FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO A
FAIR TRIAL IN) ACCORDANCE WITH DUE
PROCESS OF LAW IN CONFLICT WITH
OTHER FEDERAL COURT DECISIONS.
The re-reading of the false, though highly relevant testi-
mony to a jury where the jury specifically requested a ruling by
the Court of what the witness originally stated, such statements
in actuality being false, is in and of itself a denial of due process.
The United States Court of Appeals For the Third Circuit er-
roneously considered the appeal for a new trial as being one
based on newly discovered evidence (Appendix C). To the
contrary, the issue centers upon a jury requesting information
from the Court which, given as testified, contained false ma-
terial statements. Although the Court was unaware of the falsity
at the time of trial, the truth was, ironically, within the reach
of the Court and in the knowledge of the U. S. Attorney. (Mrs.
Coleman had her copy in her purse while testifying). Only
after the inquiries «f the jury did the issue of whether the
deductions were included on the witness's own copy became rele-
vant to the Court and to the attorneys involved. Only then was
the attempt made to obtain the copy itself.
The Court of Appeals is in conflict with the reasoning of three
cases decided in its own Third Circuit: United States v. Meyers,
484 F. 2d 113 (3d Cir. 1973); United States v. Rabb, 453 F.
2d 1012, (3d Cir. 1971); United States v. Jackson, 257 F. 2d
31 (3d Cir. 1958). In the United States v. Meyers, supra, the
Court of Appeals reversed the Federal District Court finding
that false testimony by a prosecution witness required that a
new trial be granted the defendant since such evidence was so
tainted, “that the conviction based on such testimony should not
be permitted to stand.” /d. at 117. The witness had testified
6
that a certain check was already endorsed by the defendant when
presented to him as bank teller by another and based on such
testimony, a handwri‘ing expert testified that that was the de-
fendant’s signature, thereby connecting the defendant to a con-
spiracy scheme of mail fraud. After the trial, and after a guilty
verdict was entered, the truth was discovered that the check had
not been endorsed at that time and that the witness had, in fact,
instructed a third person to sign the defendant's name. The
Court found that this was not really newly discovered evidence
Id. at 116, but rather a situation where a prosecution witness
falsely testified at trial. Here, the test is one espoused in Lar-
rison v. United States, 24 F. 2d 82, 87 (7th Cir. 1928):
“1. The Court is reasonably well satisfied that the testimony given by
a material witness is false; 2. That without it, a jury might have
reached a different conclusion; 3. That the party seeking the new
trial was taken by surprise when the false testimony was given and
was unable to meet it or did not know of its falsity until after
the trial.
Here, it is submitted that (1) the testimony is known to
have been false (2) the jury might have found otherwise (see
discussion imfra., Point 2 (3) The defendant was surprised
and unaware of the falsity until after the trial.* :
In Meyers, the Court could not even be sure of the part the
testimony played in jury deliberations, but here, however, it is
clear from the jury's request to know whether the witness stated
that it was or was not on her copy, that the jury focused their
attention on this one peculiar fact. It is contended that the actual
copy should have been supplied since the question of re-reading
the testimony was paramount, particularly where it was argued
by the defense that such testimony was false and maintained on
the other hand by the prosecution that it was true.
Re-reading testimony is done with caution as it, at times,
unduly emphasizes certain facts. The Third Circuit in United
States v. Jackson, supra., found that the jury was entitled to
“Unfortunately, the record does not reflect these events. However, the
record for the appeal contains affidavits supporting the facts as stated.
7
be informed of the information requested as a matter of right.
In that case, the jury, during the course of their deliberation,
asked the Court whether a witness, who was an informer, was a
government employee. The judge felt he was unable to answer
this question and, therefore, the jury was sent to resume de-
liberations without a response to their inquiry. Thereafter, ar-
guments ensued between defense counsel and the government's
counsel, with the judge finally deciding to read a portion of the
transcript which would show that the informer was, in fact, paid
by the government. However, before this information could be
relayed to the jury, the judge was notified that they had reached
a verdict. The judge asked whether they needed the answer to
their earlier question, and the foreman responded that they no
longer required such and thereby returned a guilty verdict. The
Court of Appeals in Jackson found the question posed by the
jury highly relevant. The issue of entrapment was essential in
this case, and, therefore, the question of whether the informer
Was a government employee was of major import. Jd. at 43.
The Third Circuit, thus failed to apply Jackson to the ex-
tent that the failure to submit the document itself to the jury
created an unfair and prejudicial result with respect to the de-
fendant’s case. The importance of responding to a jury's request
in the best possible way was highlighted in the United States v.
Rabb, supra. In this case, the jury requested testimony of the
three eyewitnesses be read. The Court of Appeals found that
such testimony was absolutely crucial to their jury's determina-
tion of the appellant's guilt or innocence in that this was the only
evidence linking the defendant to the crime. The Jackson and
Rabb decisions are important to support the petitioner's conten-
tion that the testimony of Sarah Coleman and the consideration
of the actual copy of her tax return was so crucial in the minds
of the jury in reaching an ultimate verdict that a denial of the
copy itself and merely the submission of the false testimony was
similar to not allowing a re-reading of crucial testimony as
found in these two cases.
2. THE DECISION OF THE UNITED STATES
COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIR-
CUIT WAS \ CONSIDERATION OF A FEDERAL
QUESTION NOT YET SETTLED BY THE
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.
This particular issue of false testimony has not been decided
by this Court although there are cases having some application
here. The line of cases following Mooney v. Holohan, 294 U. 3.
109 (1934); Mesarosh v. United States, 352 U. S. 1 (1956);
Napue v. Hlinois, 360 U. S. 264 (1938) with a most recent ap-
plication in DeMarco v. United States, 415 U. S. 449 (1974)
shed some light on the issue of false testimony. In Mooney
and Napue, the facts show that the prosecuting attorney had
knowledge that the evidence introduced was false at the time ot
trial.
In Mesarosh, the prosecutor later determined that the wit-
ness had a history of perjury and a psychologically induced habit
of not telling the truth. He, therefore, moved to have the Fed-
eral District Court conduct a hearing to determine that there was
other sufficient evidence to sustain the conviction. However,
the Court found that a new trial should be granted in favor of
the defendant rather than acceding to the procedure requested by
the prosecuting attorney. /d. at 13. It is noteworthy that the
Court found that a new trial be granted all the defendants since
the false testimony tainted the proceedings making it impossible
to discern if other evidence existed in the case to support a guilty
conviction.
Here, where the main witnesses were the tax clients of the
defendant who claimed to have no knowledge of “false” entries
on their tax returns yet admitted that they would tell the peti-
tioner what to enter on the forms; that they would review the
return with the petitioner; and would receive a photocopy some
months later, the question of credibility is great. The jury con-
victed the petitioner on three out of four counts, The First
Count involved one of the witnesses’ returns, whose testimony in
no way supported the offense alleged. The Second and Third
9
Counts involved the Coleman returns, (the Coleman testimony
contained the pertinent false statements.) The Fourth Count in-
volved the Dominiak return. Mr. Dominiak testified, speaking in
broken English, and insistently denied having told the petitioner
to enter a deduction for union dues. It should be noted that he
was extremely difficult to understand, and by his testimony, it
seems, had difficulty h'mself in understanding many of the ques-
tions.
The fact that the jury highlighted the Coleman testimony
regarding her own copy implies that the jury found a mode by
which the petitioner intentionally falsely filed the returns without
the individual client-witness’ knowledge, that is, by not showing
these deductions on the clients’ own copy, yet making such de-
ductions on the forms actually filed with the Internal Revenue
Service. This is completely and utterly erroneous as was clearly
shown to be so once the copy was retrieved. Of note is that the
U. S. Attorney never espoused such a theory and it was merely
by a stroke of fate that such a theory was so formulated.
It is the obligation of the Court system to now allow a new
trial to correct the tainted and polluted evidence that the jury is
now known to have considered. Based on the reasoning of
Mesarosh, it should be found here that a denial of due process
exists where false testimony is allowed to remain as the basis
of a conviction. If the jury, as it likely did, found that the
petitioner had worked out the method described as the means of
false filing, no one can now separate the tainted evidence from
the original verdict as to the Coleman counts and the Dominiak
Count (which was the final Count and probably last deliberated
one once the “guilty” verdict was reached on Coleman).
In Napue v. /llinois, supra., the prosecution's witness who
had been previously found guilty of murder and who was now
testifying against the defendant accused of the same murder
denied having been promised anything for his testimony. It was
later determined that he had been given promises and that the
prosecution had not stopped or clarified the false testimony dur-
ing the trial. It was contended by the state, throughout the ap-
peal for a new trial based on the realization that false testimony |
10
had been given, that this testimony was not, in fact, false but
rather that the time the promise was made was actually in dis-
pute. /d. at 267. Convictions obtained through false evidence
known to be false by a representative of the state falls under the
Fourteenth Amendment. See Mooney v. Holohan, supra.; Pyle
v. Kansas, 317 U.S. 213 (1940). The same result occurs when
the state, although not soliciting false evidence allows it to go
uncorrected when it appears. <lcorta v. Texas, 355 U. S. 28
(1959).
“The principle that a state may not knowingly use false evidence, includ-
ing false testimony, to obtain a tainted conviction, implicit in any concept
of ordered liberty, does not cease to apply merely because the false testi-
mony goes only to the credibility of the witness. The jury's estimate of
the truthfulness and reliability of a given witness may well be determina-
tive of guilt or innocence, it is upon such subtle factors as the possible in-
terest of the witness in testifying falsely that a defendant's life or liberty
may depend. Napue rv. Illinois, 360 U. 8. 264 at 269 (1958).”
It is not clear from the record that the United States At-
torney knew of the falsity, although it is arguable that he should
have known the true contents.*
It is contended here that in the light of the facts and the
state of the present law as formulated by the Federal Courts
that the decision regarding false testimony be extended here by
this Court to a situation where (1) it is not clear, the U. S. At-
torney did not know of its falsity, and (2) even if he was not
aware of the falsity, the resulting effect is a denial of due process
because of the essential pivotal question of intent and credibility
3The special agent for the U. S. Attorney's Office had access to Mrs. Cole-
man’s copy. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Coleman stated the following on cross
examination with reference to the special agent's investigation :
“They asked me if Mr. Ganie filed my income tax. I said, ‘yes’, and
he asked me could he see my ‘71 receipt and ‘72. I said, ‘yes, you
can see them.’ He said, ‘Do you mind going upstairs getting them for
me’ which I did, went up and got them. He looked them over. He said,
‘Thank you for your cooperation. What he was writing down, I don't
know. I didn't read what they wrote down. They didn’t show me what
they wrote down, just told me to sign it. Q. “Told you to sign the
statement? A. The statement they were there and they looked at my
receipts, the ‘71 and “72.”
11
which is the basis of the offense for which the petitioner has been
convicted.
DeMarco v. United States, 415 U. S. 449 (1974) again in-
volves the false testimony of a prosecution's witness who stated
that he had not been promised more favorable treatment by the
state for his testimony. The United States Court of Appeals had
found in this case that a promise had been made after the testi-
mony was given. This Court granted the Petition for Writ of
Certiorari finding that the fact question of when the promise
was made should be determined by the Federal District Court
and therefore remanded it to that Court vacating the Court of
Appeals decision. /d. at 450.
i2
3. THIS COURT HAS NOT SETTLED THE QUES-
TION OF WHETHER IT IS A DENIAL OF DUE
PROCESS TO ALLOW THE U.S. ATTORNEY TO
DISMISS A MAJOR PART OF A MULTIPLE
COUNT INDICTMENT INITIALLY PRESENTED
TO THE JURY, THE DISMISSAL OCCURRING
BEFORE THE ACTUAL TRIAL HAD COM-
MENCED.
The Court has settled the point that an amendment by a
Federal Court to an indictment returned by the Grand Jury is
in violation of the Fifth Amendment. E.r Parte Bain, 121 U. S.
1 (1886), Salinger v. United States, 272 U. S. 542 (1926).
It is not contended here that the dismissal of all but five counts
against Joseph Ganie of the original indictment consisting of
twenty-eight counts between Elinor and Joseph Ganie constitutes
an amendment and, therefore, these cases have no application.
This Court has also considered cases dealing with ‘vari-
ance’ that is where the evidence is at variance with the offenses
alleged in the indictment. The question of whether any existing
variance is prejudicial has been settled by this Court in the test
espoused in Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78 (1935). Vari-
ance would prejudice the case if the defendant is not adequately
informed of the charges against him, and (2) he is not protected
from being prosecuted again for the same offense. The petitioner
does not seek to apply this concept.
Rather, the petitioner contends that his constitutional right
of due process has been abridged since at the outset of the trial.
the government, through the Court, introduced to the jury the
indictment against Elinor and Joseph Ganie, charging them with
conspiracy with each other and others involving some fourteen
substantive counts against each defendant.
The jury so understood the government's case from the
time it was selected on June 18, 1974 until Friday, June 24,
1974 when the actual trial began. At that time the Court made
a brief statement to the jury indicating that the government
had dismissed all counts against Mrs. Ganie and had dismissed
13
Counts One, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Thirteen and
Fourteen against Joseph Ganie leaving for the jury's considera-
tion, five counts, Counts Two, Three, Four, Five and Twelve.
No explanation was offered to the jury as to why the
charges were dismissed. Moreover, at the conclusion of the gov-
ernment’s case, the Court indicated out of the presence of the
jury, that it would dismiss one more count of the indictment
since the government's proofs were obviously inadequate to sup-
port this count as well. The jury was not informed of this
fact until sometime after the defendant took the stand in his
own defense. gain, no explanation was given for this action.
The Court did, however, in its general instruction, correctly state
the fact that no inferences were permitted to be drawn from
an indictment. It should be noted, however, that the Court did
not instruct the jury as to the inferences permitted from the
dismissal of the aforementioned charges.
It is recognized that it has been customary for defendants
charged in multiple-count indictments to plead to one or more
of the counts and have the Court dismiss the remaining. Mc-
Clintock v. United States, 60 F. 2d 839 (10th Cir. 1932); Gun-
ville v. United States, 386 F. 2d 186 (8th Cir. 1967), See Al-
schuler, The Prosecutor's Role in Plea Bargaining, 36 U. Chi.
L. R. 50 (1968). However, it is submitted that a jury might
easily infer from a long list of accusations followed by a trial
only on a few, that the government generously and gratuitously
acting on its own initiative, dismissed charges even though the
defendant was probably guilty of most or all of these offenses
as well, but that the government would not involve everyone
with the expense and time of a long, intricate trial. Rather,
it would present and be satisfied with a conviction of only a few
charges.
This element proved to be highly prejudicial, particularly
with the indictment against the petitioner. The form of the in-
dictment is similar to a litany in which most of the Fourteen
Counts were identical, generally dissimilar only regarding the in-
dividuals involved. Thus, the natural inclination of the jury
would be to believe that the petitioner had done something wrong
heing accused of doing the same thing fourteen different times.
14
CONCLUSION
It is respectfully submitted that for the foregoing reasons,
the petitioner be granted his Petition for Writ of Certiorari.
Respectfully submitted,
We ' at PE K ‘Sr Chan
OCKMAN
Attorney for Petitioner
15
IN THE
November Term of 1975
No.
JosepH GANIE,
Petitioner,
Vs.
Unitrep STATES OF AMERICA,
Respondent.
Certificate of Service
I, Gerald R. Stockman, Attorney for Petitioner, Josern
GANIE, do hereby certify that on this, the 5th day of November,
1975, three copies of the foregoing Petition for a Writ of Cer-
tiorari have been served on the following:
Solicitor General
Department of Justice
Washington, D. C. 20530
Attorney of record for the Respondents by personal service to
the office of the above named.
~~ £2
ee J
“r- * 4a
GERALD R. STOCKMAN
16
A-l
APPENDIX A
Verdict Rendered in Federal District Court
of New Jersey
THE COURT: That is all, ladies and gentlemen. You may
return now and resume your deliberation.
(The jury left the courtroom at 1:55 P.M.)
(The following occurred at 3:00 P.M.)
(The jury entered the courtroom)
(Defendant present )
(Roll call of the jury)
THE CLERK: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have
you agreed upon your verdict?
THE JURY: Yes.
THE CLERK: Who shall speak for you?
THE JURY: The Forelady.
THE CLERK: Please rise.
Is the verdict unanimous ?
THE FORELADY: Yes.
THE CLERK: Do you find the defendant guilty or not
guilty on Count 1?
THE FORELADY: Not guilty.
THE CLERK: Do you find the defendant guilty or not
guilty on Count 2?
THE FORELADY. I don't know which one you are talk-
ing about, Count 2 in the indictment? For the first one, Burgos.
Coleman is guilty.
THE CLERK: Do you find the defendant guilty or not
guilty on Count 3?
THE FORELADY: Guilty.
THE CLERK: Do you find the defendant guilty or not
guilty on Count 4+?
THE FORELADY: Guilty.
A-2
THE CLERK: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, hearken
to your verdict as the Court shall order it recorded.
You say you find the defendant not guilty on Count 1;
guilty on Count 2; guilty on Count 3; and guilty on Count 4,
and so say you all?
THE COURT: Poll the jury, please.
(The jury was polled)
B-1
APPENDIX B
Order of Federal District Court of New Jersey
Granting New Trial Counts II and III and Denying
New Trial Count IV
For THe Distaicrt or New Jersey
Criminal No: 192-73
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA =:
v.
JOSEPH GANIE AND ELINOR
GANIE, : ORDER
Defendants. :
This matter being opened to the Court by Dietrich, Stock-
man & Lake, P. A., substituted attorneys of record for the de-
fendants, Gerald R. Stockman, Esq., appearing, and the United
States of America being represented by the United States At-
torney’s Office, Richard T. Philips, Esq., Assistant United States
Attorney appearing, and the Court having examined the moving
papers and heard oral argument;
[T IS on this 2nd day of Dec., 1974+, ORDERED that in
accordance with Rule 33 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Pro-
cedure, the defendant Joseph Ganie, be granted a new trial on
Count II and III of the Amended Indictment (the Counts in-
volving Sarah Coleman's tax returns), and
It is FURTHER ORDERED that the defendant's motion
for a new trial as to his conviction of the Fourth Count of the
Indictment (the Ludwik Dominiak’s tax return) is denied, and
judgment of conviction is entered thereon.
/s/ Grorce H. Bartow, JUSDC
We hereby consent to the form of the within Order.
JONATHAN L. GOLDSTEIN
U. S. Attorney
Attorney for U. S. of America
By: /s/ Richard T. Philips
C-1
APPENDIX C
Opinion and Judgment of United States Court of Appeals
For The Third Circuit
Un itep States Court or APPEALS
For Tue Tuirp Circuit
No. 75-1461
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
JoseEpH GANIE and
ELINOR GANIE
JosepH Ganire, Appellant
(D. C. Criminal No, 192-73)
APPEAL From THe UnNttrep States District Court
For Tue District or New JERSEY
Submitted under 3rd Cir. Rule 12(6) October 3, 1975
Before Maris. Van Dusen and HuNTER,
Circuit Judges
Gerald R. Stockman, Esq., Dietrich,
Stockman, & Lake, P. A., Trenton, N. J..
Attorneys for Appellant
Jonathan L. Goldstein, U. S. Attorney;
Maryanne T. Desmond, Assistant U. S.
Attorney; Newark, N. J.
Attorneys tor Appellee
C-2
Judgment Order
After considering the contentions raised by appellant that
(a) in the interest of justice, a new trial should be granted on
the entire verdict due to erroneous and misleading testimony
reread to the jury, causing an unfair and prejudicial result to
follow,’ and (b) the totality of the circumstances surrounding
the trial denied the appellant his right to a fair trial,? it is
ADJUDGED AND ORDERED that the judgment of the
district court be and is hereby affirmed.
By Tue Court:
Van Dusen
Circuit Judge
Dated: Oct. 6, 1975
Attest:
Thomas F. Quinn
Tuomas F. Quinn, Clerk
ISee United States v. Meyers, 484 F. 2d 113, 116 (3d Cir. 1973) ; 2 Wright,
Federal Practice and Procedure — Criminal § 551, at p. 482 (1969).
2Compare Sheppard v. Marwell, 384 U. *. 333, 352-55 (1966), with the
defendant's version of the facts in the instant case.
D-1
APPENDIX D
Constitutional and Statutory Provisions
AMENDMENT 5
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or other-
Wise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of
a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces,
or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or
public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same of-
fence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself,
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process
of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, with-
out just compensation.
26 U. S. C. 7206(2) — Fraud and False Statements
Aid or assistance. Willfully aids or assists in, or procures,
counsels, or advises the preparation or presentation under, or
in connection with any matter arising under, the internal revenue
laws, of a return, affidavit, claim, or other document, which is
fraudulent or is false as to any material matter, whether or not
such falsity or fraud is with the knowledge or consent of the
person authorized or required to present such return, affidavit,
claim or document,
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.