Court Opinion

ID: 9453196
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 18:06:10.881849+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:33:33.583945
License: Public Domain

POPE, Circuit Judge
(dissenting):
I think it is no part of our function to take orders from the Department of Justice in respect to the latter’s policies. As stated in Cornet et al. v. United States, No. 20,386, in an order filed by Judges Chambers, Hamlin and Koelsch, November 16, 1966, “There comes a time in the processes of the enforcement of the law when a case belongs to the court. No error of the trial court is suggested by the government, but only a change in its prosecution policies.” The Government’s motion to vacate the judgment of conviction was denied and properly, I think.
This case is not the same as Petite v. United States, 361 U.S. 529, 80 S.Ct. 450, 4 L.Ed.2d 490. In that case, Petite was prosecuted and convicted in the same case and under the same indictment which was brought against the others there mentioned. That is because under the facts of that case Petite was a principal within the meaning of Title 18 § 2. A separate indictment of Petite for another related offense was dismissed. As noted in the opinion in our case, Orlando was not a principal and was mistakenly attempted to be treated as a principal, but he was in fact and proven to be an accessory after the fact within the meaning of Title 18 § 3. Of this offense he was clearly guilty and properly convicted and deserves punishment.
I refuse to participate in this present attempt to allow a guilty man to go free by giving my consent to the proposed motion.