United States v. Martin N. Wolters

Appellant was indicted, tried by a jury, and convicted for failure to file an income tax return for the year 1973 in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203 .

STATEMENT

Appellant failed to file income tax returns for the years 1971 and 1972. He again failed to file an income tax return for 1973, the year in issue before us. He testified that he did not file because to do so would violate his constitutional rights, in particular his First and Fifth Amendment rights. Additionally, he said that on April 15,1974, he did not know it was a crime not to file a federal income tax return.

The record shows that appellant contacted Lucille Moran, a person in Florida who claimed to be an attorney. He says she advised him that he was not required to file a return. He said he relied on her advice in not filing. In the voir dire, appellant’s attorney requested the judge to ask potential jurors a question regarding the church to which they belonged. It was his claim that Mormons were compelled to uphold the tax laws and would, therefore, be prejudiced against him. The judge refused his request, although he said that he would ask the prospective jurors if they belonged to a church that had a particular…