United States v. Norman Leon Vroman

Norman Leon Vroman appeals from a judgment of conviction entered by the district court on five counts of willfully failing to file tax returns in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203 . Vroman seeks reversal on the ground that the indictment should have been dismissed because it fails to give sufficient notice of the basis for the charges against him. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

We review the district court’s denial of a motion to dismiss the indictment de novo. United States v. Christopher, 700 F.2d 1253, 1257 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 960 , 103 S.Ct. 2436 , 77 L.Ed.2d 1321 (1983).

Vroman contends the indictment fails to charge a crime because it cites to 26 U.S.C. §§ 7201 and 7203, which prescribe penalties for failure to file an income tax return, rather than 26 U.S.C. § 6012 , the section that requires a tax return to be filed.

An indictment is constitutionally sufficient if it “first, contains the elements of the offense charged and fairly informs a defendant of the charge against which he must defend, and, second, enables him to plead an acquittal or conviction in bar of future prosecutions for the same offense.” Hamling v. United States,…