United States v. Ernest E. Haseltine, Jr.

Appellant, an insurance broker, was charged in four counts with having wil-fully failed to file income tax returns for the years 1962 through 1965, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203 . Following jury trial he was adjudged guilty on two of the four counts.

1. The principal issue on trial was whether or not the failure to file was wilful in the sense in which that term is used in § 7203. There .is no question but that it was knowing. Appellant contends, however, that his failure to file was the product of psychological and emotional pressures rather than of a purpose to avoid payment of the tax. He assigns as'error the rejection by the District Court of an offer of proof of his mental state through testimony of a psychiatrist.

It was not error for the court to reject this offer. Insanity was not interposed as a defense and it is not contended that appellant’s compulsion so affected his volitional control as to meet insanity standards. We reject appellant’s argument that the doctrine of diminished responsibility should nevertheless relieve him of the consequences of his conduct. Being sane, he had the capacity to act wilfully. The question is whether he did in fact so act.

The…