United States v. Ralph M. Chavez

Appellant was charged in a one count information with the willful failure to file income tax returns in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203 , a misdemeanor. Subsequently, after a determination that appellant did not have sufficient funds to employ counsel, an attorney was appointed. Appellant, after a court trial on stipulated facts, was convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment and fined $3,000.00. He is prosecuting this appeal in forma pauperis. We affirm.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On January 9, 1980, appellant was arraigned and he entered a plea of not guilty. On January 23, 1980, appellant filed a motion to dismiss the information on the grounds that the statute was unconstitutional. Appellant complained that § 7203’s costs of prosecution provision was mandatory and that it chilled the exercise of his constitutional rights. This motion was denied on February 4, 1980. The district court ruled that if a statute can be reasonably read in two ways it must construe the statute so as to avoid doubt as 'to its constitutionality and that the costs of prosecution provision was discretionary and constitutional.

On February 12,1980, the appellant went to trial on stipulated facts.…