U.S. v. Hammerman, 75--1090

• Decision Date: 29 October 1975
• Docket Number: No. 75--1090,75--1090
• Citation: 528 F.2d 326
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. I. H. HAMMERMAN, II, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 326

528 F.2d 326

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. I. H. HAMMERMAN, II, Appellant.

No. 75--1090.

United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit.

Argued July 8, 1975.

Decided Oct. 29, 1975.

Sidney S. Sachs, Washington, D.C. (Hal Witt, David M. Dorsen, Robert S. Erdahl, Sachs, Greenebaum & Tayler, Washington, D.C., on brief), for appellant.

Peter M. Shannon, Jr., Atty., U.S. Dept. of Justice (John C. Keeney, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen. of Maryland, Jervis S. Finney, U.S. Atty., and Jerome M. Feit, Atty., U.S. Dept. of Justice, on brief), for appellee.

Before CRAVEN, BUTZNER and FIELD, Circuit Judges.

CRAVEN, Circuit Judge:

Appellant I. H. Hammerman, II, pleaded guilty to an information charging obstruction of the enforcement of the tax laws of the United States, 26 U.S.C. § 7212(a). From a sentence to a term of imprisonment of 18 months and a fine in the amount of $5,000, he appeals on the ground, inter alia, that he was misled by the prosecutors to believe that the district court would honor their recommendation that he not be imprisoned. We agree, and accordingly conclude that his plea was involuntary. We therefore reverse and remand with instructions that Hammerman be allowed to plead over.

I.

In September 1973 Hammerman made the best he could of a bad situation. By written agreement he aligned himself with the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland against the incumbent Vice President of the United States, Spiro Agnew. It was not an easy decision. Indeed, the United States Attorney later spoke of the 'enormity of the decision' to 'provide testimony against a man of great political power and public influence' who was not above attempting to intimidate the prosecutors and who, before his fall from power, characterized on national television witnesses against him 'as 'liars' and 'small men willing to do anything to save their own skins." ¹

The agreement between the United States and Hammerman provided that he would plead guilty to a violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7212 (obstruction of the enforcement of the tax laws of the United States) and that he would cooperate fully and truthfully in the prosecution of Vice President Agnew and others. The quid pro quo was that the United States Attorney promised that no further criminal charges would be brought against Hammerman and that his cooperation would be brought to the attention of the court in an affirmative way at sentencing.

Thereafter the situation changed startlingly. The Vice President resigned his office in disgrace and on the same day entered a plea of nolo contendere to a charge of violating 26 U.S.C. § 7201. He was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation and a fine of $10,000. The factual basis for the court's acceptance of the Vice President's plea was based in large part on an October 9, 1973, affidavit by Hammerman specifying his role as bagman for Agnew.

Because of the leniency accorded Agnew, the United States Attorney of Maryland reviewed Hammerman's case and concluded that it would be inappropriate to punish one who truthfully cooperated in the investigation more severely than the 'Target,' i.e., the Vice President. Although the September agreement with Hammerman did not commit the United States Attorney to make a recommendation as to sentence, he nevertheless concluded that he ought to do so. ² Indeed, the United States Attorney was so concerned that Hammerman should not be treated more harshly than the principal offender that consideration was given to dismissing the case against him. Instead, it was decided that it would be best to proceed, for the purpose of revealing all that was known to the public, but to do everything possible to assure leniency equal to that accorded Agnew. To the end of assuring acceptance of a recommendation of no incarceration, the filing of charges and entry of a plea were delayed. ³ Also, prior to the time that charges actually were filed, appellant and the government requested an in-chambers conference ⁴ with the three judges who had been designated to handle Hammerman's guilty plea. ⁵

At this conference held on October 11, 1974, United States Attorney George Beall presented the government's affirmative argument that imprisonment would be inappropriate ⁶ in this case. ⁷ Also, the timing of the arraignment and sentencing was discussed for the purpose of avoiding the appearance of a 'cut and dried' procedure and the creation of excessive publicity. ⁸

By affidavit filed in this court, counsel alleges that:

Immediately following the conference on October 11, 1974, one of the prosecutors stated to appellant's counsel his firm belief that the court had given the desired indication that it would accept the United States Attorney's recommendation by all that had occurred, and particularly by saying that it wanted to avoid the appearance of a 'cut and dried' proceeding. He said he was sure that the court would not have talked in those terms if it were not planning to follow the United States Attorney's recommendation. He stated, specifically or in substance, and most emphatically, that the court had given the 'signal' which counsel had been seeking. ⁹

The government at no time in its response to the Statement of Proceedings ¹⁰ or in its brief or at oral argument denied that the statement as recited by appellant was made by 'an assistant-prosecutor.' ¹¹ We thus treat the uncontradicted affidavit as establishing an agreed fact--one known to the parties only and beyond the cognizance of the court.

At arraignment on November 11, Mr. Beall made an affirmative recommendation that Hammerman's sentence not include any incarceration and notified the court that a detailed statement in support of the government's position would be provided at sentencing. The court noted that it would give consideration to that recommendation but was not bound by it. After inquiring as to whether there were any other agreements, understandings, or inducements, ¹² and being told that there were none, the court accepted Hammerman's guilty plea.

Sentencing took place on November 25. In open court United States Attorney Beall spoke eloquently and at length and urged, indeed, pleaded with the court that Hammerman not be incarcerated. Based on the ground that a failure to impose a sentence of confinement would 'unduly depreciate the seriousness of the offense,' the court sentenced Hammerman to a term of imprisonment of 18 months and a fine of $5,000.

Hammerman appeals from this sentence and seeks in the alternative either the specific enforcement of the plea bargain, including the prosecutor's assurance of acceptance by the court of the suspended sentence recommendation, the setting aside of his waiver of indictment, guilty plea and sentence, or the ordering of an evidentiary hearing on the substance of this claim.

II.

Hammerman claims that he was misled by the statement of a prosecutor after the October 11 pre-plea conference into believing that the court had accepted the government's recommendation that he not be sentenced to prison. That statement expressed the 'firm belief' of the prosecutor that the court had given counsel the 'signal' he wanted, i.e., that the court would follow the United States Attorney's recommendation.

We view the prosecutor's prediction as likely to inculcate belief and reliance and therefore an essential element of the plea bargain. That the prosecutor lacked the power to implement the prediction made it an 'unfulfillable' promise condemned by Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 755, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970). See Correale v. United States,479 F.2d 944, 947 (1st Cir. 1973); Walters v. Harris, 460 F.2d 988, 992 (4th Cir. 1972), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1129, 93 S.Ct. 947, 35 L.Ed.2d 262 (1973). It does not matter that the prediction or promise was made in good faith; what matters is it was probably relied upon, was not fulfilled and was unfulfillable. Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 262, 92 S.Ct. 495, 30 L.Ed.2d 427 (1971); Correale v. United States, supra.

Nor does it matter that only one assistant prosecutor made the representation in question. In plea bargaining arrangements it is the responsibility of lawyers in the prosecutor's office to let "the left hand know what the right hand is doing' or has done.' Santobello, supra at 262, 92 S.Ct. at 499; Walters v. Harris, supra at 992; United States v. Carter,454 F.2d 426, 427--28 (4th Cir. 1972), cert. denied, 417 U.S. 933, 94 S.Ct. 2646, 41 L.Ed.2d 237 (1974). See also Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 154, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972).

As United States Attorney Beall stated at the sentencing hearing, the inducement to Hammerman from the beginning 'was the expectation that (he) would be treated no worse than the person against whom (he) furnished helpful testimony,' ¹³ and the probationary sentence subsequently given Agnew supplied definition of the inducement, i.e., suspension of any sentence imposed. Finally, the statement in question by the assistant prosecutor gave assurance that the bargain desired by both the government and appellant Hammerman had been accepted by the court.

Properly viewed there was, therefore, only one plea bargain, the last element of which was false confirmation by an assistant prosecutor that the terms had been accepted by the court. One month after the final formulation Hammerman entered his plea of guilty. On these facts, we find that the statement of the assistant prosecutor confirming acceptance of the plea bargain formed a significant part of the inducement for the guilty plea. As we held in Walters v. Harris, supra at 991--92, an assurance that the defendant would receive a particular sentence, an assurance not within the power of the prosecutor to make, is a promise that cannot be kept, and such an unkept bargain which has induced a guilty plea is grounds for relief. Santobello, supra.

At arraignment Mr. Hammerman was asked whether there were any other...