United States v. Robert v. H. Sugden and Jean S. Sugden

Robert V. H. Sugden is a cotton farmer farming in Arizona near Yuma. His wife Jean assists him in the operation, at least as far as operating their farm radio station is concerned.

On October 7, 1953, Mr. and Mrs. Sug-den were jointly indicted for conspiracy to violate the immigration laws. Also, Mr. Sugden alone was indicted for concealing and shielding illegal entrants into the United States from detection. The charges revolve around allegations of employing Mexican nationals, commonly called “wetbacks,” on the Sugden farm. It is alleged that they took various steps to hide the illegal entrants and avoid being caught with them in their employ.

Consideration of the case will be shortened if, for the discussion of the case, it is assumed the Sugdens are guilty as charged. Of course, this may not be true at all.

The legally offensive events began in August, 1953, and seem to have culminated on September 18 of the same year.

In the matter of detection, of coaxing witnesses to speak freely upon interrogation before indictment and before trial, the government was materially aided by the fact that one Robert J. Stratton, an engineer from the Los Angeles office of the Federal…