Court Opinion

ID: 9884966
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 03:26:26.911268+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:42.895738
License: Public Domain

Mr. Justice Schaefer, dissenting: The judgment has been reversed in this case on the ground that it was imperative that extrinsic evidence be introduced to support the allegations of the petition, and no such evidence was offered. But a full reading of the record satisfies me that the trial judge was justified in considering that the respondent had waived his right to answer the allegations of the petition. Since those allegations were not denied, no useful purpose could have been served by. requiring extrinsic evidence to establish their truth. The grand jury subpoena duces tecum, addressed to the Sahara Inn North, Inc.,—Mandel Skar, President, was issued on March 14, returnable on March 18. It was served on March 15. It recited the pendency before the grand jury of a complaint “against Michael Russo, et al.: an investigation into the theft of building materials from Edmier Inc.”, and it called for the production of the following records of Sahara Inn North, Inc. a. All records of cash receipts and disbursements on all bank accounts since incorporation. b. All cancelled checks and all bank statements on all accounts since incorporation. c. All contracts with subcontractors for contracts of the motel at 3939 North Mannheim Road, Schiller Park,Illinois. d. General journal and journal ledger from the period of incorporation to date. On March 25, 1963, the foreman of the grand jury presented a petition reciting the issuance and service of the subpoena and stating that the books and records were necessary and material to an investigation being conducted by the grand jury into the theft of building materials from Edmier, Inc. It pointed out that the records sought from Sahara Inn North, Inc. would show the contracts for the construction of the Inn and all 'moneys paid out and received during the period of its construction. The petition further stated that Mandel Skar had appeared before the grand jury, that he wilfully failed to produce before the grand jury all of the books and records required by the subpoena and that the records which he did produce pertained to the period after June, 1962, and did not cover the period of construction. It also recited that Skar had stated to the grand jury that the records that he produced were all that he had in his possession and that when he was asked whether records pertaining to periods prior to June, 1962 “were ever in existence or are now in existence said Mandel Skar refused to answer on the grounds that the answers may tend to incriminate him.” The petition requested that the court enter a rule upon Skar to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for failure to produce the books and records of the corporation as required by the subpoena duces tecum. The term of the grand jury was about to expire on March 29, and on March 27, after earlier skirmishes before the court with respect to the respondent’s failure to appear before the grand jury, the hearing upon the petition was continued until March 28 at 2:00 P.M. to enable the respondent’s attorney to answer the petition. When the matter was called for hearing on March 28, the respondent’s attorney answered that he was ready, and the court inquired whether he had filed an answer. Respondent’s attorney replied, “We will answer. I want to have him testify. I don’t think I have to file an answer.” The assistant state’s attorney then made the statement quoted in the opinion of the court, that since no answer was filed, the State would stand upon the petition. Respondent’s attorney thereupon moved to dismiss the petition and discharge the rule. In my opinion the trial court properly interpreted the statement of the respondent’s' attorney as a waiver of his right to put in issue the allegations of the petition, and properly refused to permit him to shift his position after the State had acted in reliance upon that waiver. Of course one who is charged with contempt outside the presence of the court is entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard. The cases cited in the opinion of the court go no further than that. None of them holds that the right to controvert the allegations of a petition like this one may not be waived, and none of them stands for the proposition that undenied allegations must be proved. On this issue there are no relevant decisions of this court, but when the question has arisen in other jurisdictions it has been held that the right to require proof of the allegations of a contempt petition may be waived. State ex rel. Wright v. Hinckle, 137 Neb. 735, 291 N.W. is such a case. There the court quoted the following language from its syllabus in Nebraska Children's Home Society v. State, 57 Neb. 765, 78 N.W. 267, 268: “Where a contempt proceeding is instituted by information and a rule to show cause, it is the duty of the defendant to file an answer if he desires to traverse the facts charged. Failing, on sufficient opportunity, to so do, the court may treat the facts alleged in the information as confessed.” Zobel v. People ex rel. Kyle, 49 Colo. 142, 111 Pac. 846, is to the same effect. No reason is suggested in the opinion of the court to justify a different result in this case. The respondent did not deny that he was the custodian of the records, that he was properly served with a subpoena or that he failed to produce the records that he was commanded to produce. He could hardly have disputed these allegations of the petition, and I think that his attorney made it amply clear that he was not interested in doing so. In response to questions put to him by his attorney, he testified that he was the president of Sahara Inn North, Inc., that in response to a subpoena duces tecum he had produced before the grand jury all of the corporate records that were in his custody, possession or control and that he had not wilfully refused to comply with the subpoena. He also testified that he had had in his possession corporate records other than those he produced before the grand jury. When he was asked what he did with those records he answered: “I gathered them — I was in Florida at the time. I gathered all of these records, put them in a suitcase with some clothes and checked them at the Miami Beach Airport.” He testified that the suitcase was checked with Eastern Air Lines “and then it was switched over to Delta Air Lines.” He testified that he had received a claim check, had made a claim for the records, but had not seen them since, and had no knowledge as to their whereabouts. On cross-examination the respondent claimed his privilege against self-incrimination when he was asked whether or not he went to Florida after he had been served with the subpoena and he repeated that claim of privilege as to all questions concerning the specific records that he had in his possession in Florida. From this testimony it is clear that the only element of the offense which the respondent ever wished to controvert was that of wilfulness. But an officer who has custody of corporate records and fails to comply with a lawful subpoena can not escape the sanctions of contempt merely by asserting that his noncompliance was not wilful. In such a case the burden of establishing the defense of inability to comply is upon the respondent. (United States v. Fleischman, 339 U.S. 349, 362-364 94 L. ed. 906; see also People v. Rezek, 410 Ill. 618, 628-629.) This rule was applied in the Pleischman case even though the records there were concededly under the joint control of a sixteen member board and no showing was made that the individual respondent could have produced them. So far as the respondent’s privilege against self-incrimination is concerned, his testimony on direct examination had clearly waived his privilege as to the matters concerning which he had voluntarily made a partial disclosure. The books and records were those of the corporation, and under the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, (Hale v. Henkel, 201 U.S. 43, 50 L. ed. 652; Wilson v. United States, 221 U.S. 361 55 L. ed. 771,) and of this court, (People v. Munday, 280 Ill. 32; People v. Ryan, 410 Ill. 486, 494) no claim of privilege based upon what those records might disclose was available to the respondent. No ruling on the claims of privilege was sought, however, and no effort was made to establish his contempt for failure to answer. Instead, the trial court chose to evaluate the testimony that the respondent offered to justify his failure to comply with the subpoena. In making that evaluation, he was entitled to take into account the inference that flowed naturally from the respondent’s claim of privilege as to significant questions on cross-examination. As Wigmore puts it: “Furthermore, where the party refuses to answer and claims privilege as to the matter which in truth is included in the waiver, but the answer is not insisted upon, the inference is of course available * * 8 Wigmore on Evidence, sec. 2273; see also McCormick on Evidence, sec. 132. In my opinion the judgment should be affirmed. Mr. Justice Solfisburg joins in this dissent.