Avalo Allison Fisher v. United States

Fisher appeals from a conviction on four counts of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001 by filing non-communist affidavits in the years 1951 and 1952 to comply with 29 U.S.C.A. § 159 (h), the Taft-Hartley Act, which contained false statements about his memberships and affiliations. He contends that the indictment was defective in three respects, that the trial judge erred in excluding and admitting evidence, that the jury was improperly instructed, and that the United States failed to prove a case against him.

The relevant statutes provide as follows:

§ 159(h).

I. The Indictment.

Appellant contends that the indictment failed to set out the essentials of the offense charged, that it failed to set forth with sufficient precision and clarity the manner in which the offenses were committed, and that it improperly charged six crimes where only three acts had taken place.

(a) The absence of an allegation of materiality. Appellant contends that the indictment failed to charge one of the essential elements of the crime in that it failed to charge that the false statements alleged to have been in the affidavits were “material.” In Rolland v. United States, 5 Cir., 1953, 200 F.2d 678 , a…