Corson v. United States, 10607.

Citation147 F.2d 437
Decision Date26 February 1945
Docket NumberNo. 10607.,10607.
PartiesCORSON v. UNITED STATES.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Morris Lavine, of Los Angeles, for appellant.

Charles H. Carr, U. S. Atty., and James M. Carter and Arthur Livingston, Asst. U. S. Attys., all of Los Angeles, Cal., for appellee.

Before WILBUR, DENMAN and STEPHENS, Circuit Judges.

STEPHENS, Circuit Judge.

Count 2 of the information, upon which appellant, Lester Arthur Corson, was tried and convicted on the 2d day of September, 1943, charged that appellant "did knowingly, wilfully and unlawfully assign and transfer to Edgar E. Thompson eight hundred (800) Type `TT' gasoline ration coupons in a manner other than in accordance with the provisions of Ration Order 5C (7 Fed.Reg. 9135), as amended, in violation of the provisions of Section 1394.8177 (b) of said Ration Order 5C, as amended, issued pursuant to the provisions of the Second War Powers Act, Pub.L. 507, 77th Cong.2d Sess., March 27, 1942; * * *." Corson appeals from the judgment entered upon the verdict.

Ration Order 5C was issued by the Office of Price Administration and provides that: "(b) No person shall transfer or assign and no person shall accept a transfer or assignment of any coupon book or any bulk, inventory or other coupon (whether or not such book was issued as a ration or as part of a ration book) or other evidence, except in accordance with the provisions of Ration Order No. 5C." § 1394.8177(b)

Section 2(a) of the Second War Powers Act, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix, § 633, authorizes the President to provide for priorities in the distribution of goods and materials, and ration boards were provided for under the direction of a government executive agency known as Price Administration. Subsection (8) of section 2(a) provides the authority therefor: "The President may exercise any power, authority, or discretion conferred on him by this subsection (a), through such department, agency, or officer of the Government as he may direct and in conformity with any rules or regulations which he may prescribe." Subsection (5) of section 2 (a) provides the penal paragraph: "Any person who willfully performs any act prohibited, or willfully fails to perform any act required by, any provision of this subsection (a) or any rule, regulation, or order thereunder, whether heretofore or hereafter issued, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both."

Appellant makes the point that the information fails to state an offense against the United States. As the judgment must be reversed because the case was submitted to the jury without necessary instruction as to the law (which error will be treated later herein), we pass the claimed insufficiency of the information. However, we pause to comment upon the poor draftsmanship of the formal accusatory document before us. Good pleading would unmistakenly inform the accused as to the law he is alleged to have violated, and the information in this case does not come up to this standard. After a careful study of the information, and, in fact, after a study of every page of the record and of the briefs, we have yet to learn what inhibition in the law the defendant is accused of having violated.

Error is claimed in that the trial court denied appellant's motion to set aside the information. Appellant's point is that the information was not supported by reasonable and probable cause of appellant's guilt. The information was verified by the statement of an Office-of-Price-Administration investigator, who swore that the matters set forth in the information were true of his own knowledge. Probable cause of...

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12 cases
  • State v. Wade
    • United States
    • West Virginia Supreme Court
    • 28 de fevereiro de 1985
    ...v. United States, 198 F.2d 999, 1005 (9th Cir.1952), cert. denied, 344 U.S. 920, 73 S.Ct. 385, 97 L.Ed. 709 (1953); Corson v. United States, 147 F.2d 437 (9th Cir.1944); Powers v. United States, 128 F.2d 300, 301 (D.C.Cir.1942); Geoates v. State, 206 Ark. 654, 176 S.W.2d 919 (1944); State v......
  • Morris v. United States, 10967.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • 19 de agosto de 1946
    ...of law, whether requested or not. See Screws v. United States, 1945, 325 U.S. 91, 107, 65 S.Ct. 1031, 89 L.Ed. 1495; Corson v. United States, 9 Cir., 147 F.2d 437; Kreiner v. United States, 1926, 2 Cir., 11 F.2d 722, certiorari denied 271 U.S. 688, 46 S.Ct. 639, 70 L.Ed. The court did not d......
  • Samuel v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • 8 de outubro de 1948
    ...68 App.D.C. 250, 96 F.2d 522; Morris v. United States, 9 Cir., 156 F.2d 525; United States v. Levy, 3 Cir., 153 F.2d 995; Corson v. United States, 9 Cir., 147 F.2d 437; Miller v. United States, 10 Cir., 120 F.2d 968; Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 107, 65 S.Ct. 1031, 89 L.Ed. 1495, 1......
  • Benatar v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • 3 de fevereiro de 1954
    ...96 F.2d 522; Morris v. United States, 9 Cir., 156 F.2d 525 169 A.L.R. 305; United States v. Levy, 3 Cir., 153 F.2d 995; Corson v. United States, 9 Cir., 147 F.2d 437; Miller v. United States, 10 Cir., 120 F.2d 968; Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 107, 65 S.Ct. 1031, 89 L.Ed. 1495, 162......
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