United States v. Arthur E. Hall

Indicted for smuggling merchandise which should have been invoiced into the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 545 , Hall waived his right to a trial by jury and proceeded to trial before the district judge. Hall was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for one year. The district judge suspended the sentence of imprisonment, however, and placed Hall on probation for one year upon the condition that Hall would consent to civil forfeiture of the smuggled merchandise to the Government.

The indictment against Hall alleged that:

In pertinent part, 18 U.S.C. § 545 provides that:

Hall now appeals from the judgment of conviction in the criminal action. His principal contention is that his conviction must be reversed because the indictment against him failed to meet the requirements of Fed.R.Crim.P. 7(c)(2). Rule 7(c)(2) provides:

Prior to his trial, Hall moved, unsuccessfully, to quash the indictment because of its noncomplianee with Rule 7(c)(2). The District Court apparently decided, however, that while the indictment was defective, the defect would not vitiate the indictment if the court ruled, in advance, that the Government would be prohibited from invoking…