United States v. Dennis Roy Choate

On August 21, 1974, a two-count indictment was returned against defendant, then a resident of Long Beach, California. Count One charged that defendant filed a false individual income tax return for 1970, listing his adjusted gross income as $4,681 instead of the correct figure of $32,581, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201 . Count Two charged a similar violation for the year 1971, with defendant listing his adjusted gross income as $5,306 instead of the proper figure of $64,744.

Two and one-half months later, defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on the ground that it was “the result of impermissably [sic] discriminatory law enforcement and unequal application of the law denying the defendant equal protection of the law.” On December 6, 1974, this motion was granted and the case dismissed on the ground that the activities of government informer Tony Gordon had violated defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel. On appeal this Court held that the Government’s attempted use of Gordon had not prejudiced defendant, so that the case was remanded for trial. United States v. Choate, 527 F.2d 748 (9th Cir. 1975).

Upon remand, defendant filed a motion on March 12,1976, to…

concurring and dissenting:

In an August 21,1974 indictment, Choate was charged with income tax evasion for understating his income in 1970 and 1971, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201 . The Government intended to offer at trial Choate’s amended returns for those years, which he filed in October, 1972, and documentary evidence tending to prove that Choate’s expenditures were greatly in excess of his originally-reported income.

Choate moved to suppress “all physical evidence sought to be introduced against him” on the theory that it was tainted by illegal searches of his home conducted by a government informant in 1971. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court found that the Government had sustained its burden of proving that the taint of the illegal searches had been dissipated. The testimony at the hearing, however, revealed that during 1972, Choate had been subjected to a mail cover of all of his correspondence. The district court held that the mail cover was conducted in violation of applicable Postal Service regulations, that it constituted an unreasonable search and seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment, and that the evidence must be suppressed. (United States…

576 F.2d 165 57 A.L.R.Fed. 678, 78-2 USTC P 9620 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Dennis Roy CHOATE, Defendant-Appellee. No. 76-3486. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. March 15, 1978. Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied June 6, 1978. Carleton D. Powell (argued), Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., Richard G. Sherman (argued), Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant. Timothy B. Flynn, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendant-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before CUMMINGS * , HUFSTEDLER and WALLACE, Circuit Judges. CUMMINGS, Circuit Judge. 1 On August 21, 1974, a two-count indictment was returned against defendant, then a resident of Long Beach, California. Count One charged that defendant filed a false individual income tax return for 1970, listing his adjusted gross income as $4,681 instead of the correct figure of $32,581, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201 . Count Two charged a similar violation for the year 1971, with defendant listing his adjusted gross income as $5,306 instead of the proper figure of $64,744. 2 Two and one-half months later, defendant filed a motion to dismiss the…