Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/510/808/194988/
Timestamp: 2019-10-14 11:28:37
Document Index: 286719932

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 231', '§ 3731', '§ 14', '§ 231', '§ 1385', '§ 231', '§ 231']

United States of America, Appellant, v. Gregorio Jaramillo, Appellee.united States of America, Appellant, v. Michael Eugene Sturdevant, Appellee, 510 F.2d 808 (8th Cir. 1975) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Eighth Circuit › 1975 › United States of America, Appellant, v. Gregorio Jaramillo, Appellee.united States of America, Appel...
United States of America, Appellant, v. Gregorio Jaramillo, Appellee.united States of America, Appellant, v. Michael Eugene Sturdevant, Appellee, 510 F.2d 808 (8th Cir. 1975)
US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit - 510 F.2d 808 (8th Cir. 1975) Submitted Nov. 15, 1974. Decided Jan. 31, 1975
Appellees Gregorio Jaramillo and Michael Eugene Sturdevant were charged, by indictment in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota, with violating and attempting to violate 18 U.S.C. § 231(a) (3).1 The charges arose out of the occupation of Wounded Knee by members of the American Indian Movement. The case was transferred to the District of Nebraska pursuant to Rule 21(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Trial was to the court. After both sides had rested, the trial judge, by order denominated 'JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL,' found the appellees not guilty of the offense charged and released them from custody. The government appeals. We hold that we are without jurisdiction to hear the cause and dismiss the appeal.
The power of the government to appeal from a judgment in favor of the defendant in a criminal case is conferred by statute. United States v. Sanges, 144 U.S. 310, 12 S. Ct. 609, 36 L. Ed. 445 (1892). Controlling in this case is 18 U.S.C. § 3731, as amended by the Omnibus Crime Control Act § 14(a), Pub. L. No. 91--644, 84 Stat. 1890 (1971). It reads in relevant part:
The District Court's final disposition of the matter on the merits looked beyond the face of the record and was bottomed on facts adduced at trial. It was thus properly characterized as an acquittal. United States v. Sisson, 399 U.S. 267, 90 S. Ct. 2117, 26 L. Ed. 2d 608 (1970).
The charging statute, 18 U.S.C. § 231(a) (3), requires, as an element of the government's proof, that the law enforcement officer affected by the appellees' acts be 'lawfully engaged in the lawful performance of his official duties incident to and during the commission of (the) civil disorder.'2 As part of its defense in chief, the appellees introduced evidence of the military involvement in the Wounded Knee operation. The purpose of this evidence was to show that the law enforcement officers were not 'lawfully engaged in the lawful performance' of their official duties, but were acting in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1385, the posse comitatus statute. It reads:
We find no merit to the government's assertion that the determination was a dismissal. The trial judge decided rightly or wrongly after both parties rested that 'lawful engagement' and 'lawful performance' were essential elements of the government's case and had to be proved by it. It looked beyond the face of the record, considered all of the evidence adduced at trial and decided that the government had failed to meet its burden.3 This conclusion went to the very heart of the appellees' guilt or innocence,4 and was properly characterized as an acquittal,5 because the trial judge determined, on the basis of the evidence developed at trial, that the proof was insufficient to support beyond a reasonable doubt the allegations of the indictment. See United States v. Sisson, supra 399 U.S. at 290 n. 19, 90 S. Ct. 2117; United States v. Jorn, 400 U.S. 470, 478 n. 7, 91 S. Ct. 547, 27 L. Ed. 2d 543 (1971); Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 29(a). The statute does not provide for a government appeal from an acquittal. United States v. Brown, 481 F.2d 1035, 1039 (8th Cir. 1973) (dictum).
The government's constitutional argument confronts the decisions of the Supreme Court that have held since Kepner v. United States, 195 U.S. 100, 24 S. Ct. 797, 49 L. Ed. 114 (1904), that the double jeopardy clause prohibits a government appeal from an acquittal in a criminal case. In the words of the Court in Fong Foo v. United States, 369 U.S. 141, 82 S. Ct. 671, 7 L. Ed. 2d 629 (1962) (Per Curiam):
Id. at 143, 82 S. Ct. at 672 (Citations omitted.).
The government attempts to distinguish Kepner and Fong Foo by pointing out that a reversal on the merits in them would have resulted in a new trial, whereas a new trial would not be necessary here.6 It argues that the central policy of the double jeopardy clause is the protection it affords the individual from the hazards of a second trial. See Green v. United States, 355 U.S. 184, 187, 78 S. Ct. 221, 2 L. Ed. 2d 199 (1957). If a second trial is truly unnecessary,7 it asserts that the public's interest in the even application of the criminal law and the conviction of the guilty outweighs any harm to the individual. Hence in such situations, the argument goes, the double jeopardy clause should not prohibit appellate jurisdiction.8
Id. 399 U.S. at 289, 90 S. Ct. at 2129 (Citations omitted.).
We believe that the dictum has constitutional significance and that Sisson at least stands for the proposition that the government cannot appeal from a judgment of acquittal under the circumstances of this case. We are persuaded to this view by the long acceptance of Kepner v. United States, supra, and the discussion of a unanimous Court in Price v. Georgia, 398 U.S. 323, 90 S. Ct. 1757, 26 L. Ed. 2d 300 (1970).10
Id. at 329, 90 S. Ct. at 1761.
On or about the 9th day of March, 1973, at Wounded Knee, in the District of South Dakota, Gregorio Jaramillo did wilfully, knowingly and unlawfully commit an act to obstruct, impede and interfere with U. S. Marshals and agents of the F.B.I., and did wilfully, knowingly and unlawfully attempt to commit an act to obstruct, impede and interfere with U. S. Marshals and agents of the F.B.I., who were then engaged in the lawful performance of their official duties incident to and during the commission of a civil disorder at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, which civil disorder obstructed, delayed and adversely affected commerce and the conduct and performance of a federally protected function, in that Gregorio Jaramillo did attempt to enter the community of Wounded Knee with a firearm, ammunition, medical supplies and clothing, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 231(a) (3).
18 U.S.C. § 231(a) (3) reads:
The fact that a full-blown trial had taken place is one fact that distinguishes this appeal from recently permitted government appeals. See Serfass v. United States, 492 F.2d 388 (3rd Cir. 1973), cert. granted, 416 U.S. 955, 94 S. Ct. 1967, 40 L. Ed. 2d 305 (1974); United States v. Martin Linen Supply Co., 485 F.2d 1143 (5th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 415 U.S. 915, 94 S. Ct. 1412, 39 L. Ed. 2d 470 (1974); United States v. Pecora, 484 F.2d 1289 (3rd Cir. 1973); United States v. Velazquez, 490 F.2d 29 (2nd Cir. 1973)
This factor is the most significant and distinguishes this appeal from two recently permitted government appeals. See United States v. Brown, 481 F.2d 1035 (8th Cir. 1973); United States v. Clay, 481 F.2d 133 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1009, 94 S. Ct. 371, 38 L. Ed. 2d 247 (1973)
The government's position as to when jeopardy attaches seems to change from time to time. In a brief filed with the Supreme Court in Serfass v. United States, supra, at page 9, it states the rule to be that 'a defendant has been placed in jeopardy only upon the commencement of a trial before the trier of fact.' In United States v. Jenkins, 490 F.2d 868 (2nd Cir. 1973), cert. granted, 417 U.S. 908, 94 S. Ct. 2603, 41 L. Ed. 2d 211 (1974), Brief for the Appellant at 10, it states the rule to be that jeopardy does not attach even after trial if a purely legal error can be isolated and corrected on appeal, at least where a retrial is not necessary for a fact already found. Its position in Jenkins is close to its position here. However, here, further fact-finding is necessary, and a new trial may be required if the original fact-finder is not available on remand. We feel that the Second Circuit correctly decided the Jenkins case against the government's position. See also United States v. Wilson, 492 F.2d 135 (3rd Cir. 1973), cert. granted, 417 U.S. 908, 94 S. Ct. 2603, 41 L. Ed. 2d 211 (1974)
See Atlas, Double Jeopardy and Government Appeals of Criminal Dismissals, 52 Texas L.Rev. 303 (1974); Mayers and Yarbrough, Bis Vexaro: New Trials and Successive Prosecutions, 74 Harv. L. Rev. 1 (1960); Miller, Appeals by the State in Criminal Cases, 36 Yale L.J. 486 (1927)