Court Opinion

ID: 9653483
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 17:47:35.08764+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:59.664931
License: Public Domain

SWAN, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
In my opinion the order should be affirmed. In his petition for naturalization the applicant incorporated his declaration of November 2, 1934 which falsely stated that he had filed no prior declaration. By an affidavit of June 24, 1940 he attempted to excuse the making of this false statement on the ground that an unidentified woman employee of the naturalization service had advised him that it was unnecessary to mention his prior declaration because it was invalid. On the former appeal we said, 127 F.2d at page 580: “On the face of the record the petitioner gave an explanation of his conduct that was not contradicted by the government and may have been honest in fact.” The case was remanded for the taking of testimony directed primarily, as I read the opinion, to a determination of the honesty of the petitioner’s excuse. Of course the government was not able after the lapse of eight years to produce an employee to testify that she was the unidentified person with whom Zele had talked in 1934 and to deny his story. The only way of attacking the story was to attack Zele’s credibility, and “his delinquencies in 1931” as well as his subsequent conduct were proper subjects of cross-examination on the issue of credibility. Such cross-examination developed that he was not wholly a dupe of Van Riper. It was shown that on several occasions the man had consciously used a false document for his own advantage. If the petitioner’s story of receiving advice from an unidentified employee was not truthful, denial of his petition for naturalization was plainly justified. The trial examiner, who recommended denial, evidently did not believe it, although he made no express findings as to why good moral character was not established. The district judge expressly found that the story was wilfully false. On the record before us I can feel no assurance that the story was truthful. It is strange that the petitioner should not even have asked the name of his adviser, if he actually obtained advice on a matter which he realized was so important. If an uncorroborated story of advice given by an unidentified person must be accepted even though the applicant’s .credibility has been seriously impeached, it would seem that the question in the declaration of intention regarding, prior declarations might as well be omitted. I think the order should be affirmed. Denial of naturalization on the present petition would not forever debar the petitioner from citizenship. See 8 U.S.C.A. § 732(a) (15); In re Guliano, D.C.N.Y., 156 F. 420; In re Stasinopulos, D.C.Mich., 21 F.2d 71.