U.S. v. Reeves

• Decision Date: 28 January 1985
• Docket Number: No. 84-1512,84-1512
• Citation: 752 F.2d 995
• Parties: -932, 85-1 USTC P 9190 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lester Irvin REEVES, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 995

752 F.2d 995

55 A.F.T.R.2d 85-932, 85-1 USTC P 9190

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Lester Irvin REEVES, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 84-1512.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

Jan. 28, 1985.

Scott McLarty, Athens, Ga., for defendant-appellant.

James A. Rolfe, U.S. Atty., Christopher Lee Milner, Dallas, Tex., for plaintiff-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Before GEE, WILLIAMS and JOLLY, Circuit Judges.

E. GRADY JOLLY, Circuit Judge:

I.

This case is an appeal from a conviction under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 7212(a) for "corruptly" endeavoring to obstruct the due administration of Title 26. ¹ The appellant, Reeves, was charged in a two-count indictment returned on July 12, 1983, by a federal grand jury sitting in Dallas, Texas. Count I of the indictment charged a violation of the mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1341. Count II charged corrupt interference with the Internal Revenue Service, a violation of 26 U.S.C. Sec. 7212(a). Both charges arose from the filing of a "common law lien" by Reeves in the deed records office of the Denton County Courthouse, in Denton, Texas on March 22, 1983, against the residence of Douglas W. LeClaire, a criminal investigator with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service.

Reeves' action toward LeClaire stemmed from LeClaire's investigation of Reeves' income tax returns for the years 1979, 1980, and 1981. On December 2, 1982, LeClaire and a fellow investigator, Mark Carmena, drove to Reeves' home outside Terrell, Texas, where they found Reeves and explained their purpose for visiting. Reeves answered questions cooperatively for approximately ten minutes, but refused to answer questions about the ownership of the land he occupied. He terminated the interview and LeClaire and Carmena promptly left the premises. LeClaire issued routine summonses to seven financial institutions for bank records concerning Reeves, sending copies of the summonses to Reeves by certified mail. Reeves did not attempt to quash the summonses, but on March 8, 1983, executed a common law lien against the residence of Agent LeClaire and recorded it in the Denton County, Texas deeds records office on March 22, 1983. This lien purported to attach to LeClaire's residence and demanded payment of $250,000.

Reeves waived his right to a trial by jury and was tried before the bench on March 20 and 21, 1984. At trial LeClaire testified that he and his family had been substantially upset by the lien, although he made no effort to remove it until after Reeves' prosecution. LeClaire also stated that the lien had interfered with his efforts to sell his house.

Reeves maintained at trial that he had placed the lien in preparation for a suit he planned to bring against LeClaire and the IRS for violation of his constitutional rights. The trial court rejected this argument and held that Reeves' constitutional claims were frivolous.

Reeves also maintained that he had not placed the lien "corruptly" as that term is used in section 7212(a) and that his behavior was protected by the first amendment's guarantee of freedom to petition under United States v. Hylton, 710 F.2d 1106 (5th Cir.1983). These claims were also rejected by the court. Following the trial, Reeves was convicted of violation of 26 U.S.C. 7212(a) and sentenced to three years in prison. The district court expressly adopted the definition of "corruptly" as meaning "with improper motive or bad or evil purpose" in convicting Reeves under section 7212(a). Count I of the indictment was dismissed on motion of the government.

Notice of appeal was filed by Reeves on June 13, 1984. On June 13, 1984, he also filed a Rule 35 motion to reduce sentence, and on June 26, 1984, the court reduced Reeves' sentence to two years in prison.

On appeal, Reeves continues to argue that his filing was not done "corruptly" under section 7212(a). He maintains that the trial court erred in adopting its definition of the term. He also continues to maintain that his behavior was protected under the first amendment.

The government asserts that the trial court's definition of "corruptly" is correct, relying on cases decided under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1503 and Sec. 1505, which contain language substantially similar to the language of section 7212(a). ² The government also contends that Hylton does not extend to the protection of the filings of frivolous actions such as the one in this case.

Because our review of the language of section 7212(a), its legislative history, and the constitutional considerations relevant to this case convinces us that the district court erred in adopting the definition of "corruptly" as meaning "with improper motive or bad or evil purpose," we reverse Reeves' conviction and remand this case to the district court for reconsideration consistent with our holding here.

II.

A.

We turn first to the language of the statute. Without a clearly expressed legislative intention to the contrary, statutory language must usually be considered controlling. Escondido Mutual Water v. La Jolla, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 2105, 80 L.Ed.2d 753 (1984).

On its face, the statute condemns those who "corruptly" endeavor to intimidate or impede certain government agents or in any other way "corruptly" endeavor to obstruct or impede the due administration of the title; we must therefore determine what "corruptly" means in this context.

It is unlikely that "corruptly" merely means "intentionally" or "with improper motive or bad or evil purpose." First, the word "endeavor" already carries the requirement of intent; one cannot "endeavor" what one does not already "intend." Similarly, the mere purpose of obstructing the tax laws is "improper" and "bad"; therefore, to interpret "corruptly" to mean either "intentionally" or "with an improper motive or bad or evil purpose" is to render "corruptly" redundant. A statute should be read to avoid rendering its language redundant if reasonably possible. Meltzer v. Board of Public Instruction, 548 F.2d 559 n. 38 (5th Cir.1977). This is especially true in the present case where "the key words in the statute are 'corruptly' and 'endeavors.' " United States v. Cioffi, 493 F.2d 1111, 1118 (2d Cir.1974) (interpreting 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1503). "Corruptly" is a word with strong connotations; it is difficult to believe Congress included this "key" word only to have it read out of the statute or absorbed into the meaning of "endeavor."

We have found no cases interpreting the word "corruptly" in section 7212, but cases interpreting analogous sections of the United States Code have interpreted "corruptly" not to mean "with improper motive or bad or evil purpose." In the case most closely on point, United States v. Ogle, 613 F.2d 233 (10th Cir.1979), the defendant contended that the jury instructions in that case "should have included reference to an evil motive, something bad, wicked or having an evil purpose." Ogle at 238. The court disagreed, pointing out that "corruptly" is not used in this fashion in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1503, the statute at issue in that case. "The term 'corruptly' does not superimpose a[n] ... element ... such as a desire to undermine the moral character of a juror. Rather, it is directed to the effort to bring about a particular result such as affecting the verdict of a jury or the testimony of a witness...." Id. at 239. "Corruptly" ordinarily describes "[a]n act done with an intent to give some advantage inconsistent with the official duty and rights of others.... It includes bribery but is more comprehensive, because an act may be corruptly done though the advantage to be derived from it be not offered by another." Id., at 238 (emphasis added). Similarly, the language of section 7212(a) is not directed at actions motivated by all "bad," "evil" or "improper" purposes; rather, section 7212(a) is directed at efforts to bring about a particular advantage such as impeding the collection of one's taxes, the taxes of another, or the auditing of one's or another's tax records. It is therefore unlikely that the interpretation of "corruptly" as meaning "with improper motive or bad or evil purpose" is an accurate interpretation of the meaning of the word as it is used in section 7212(a).

Although the special considerations surrounding a criminal trial have caused courts interpreting section 1503 to impute "corrupt" intent to many practices, the independent significance of this term has not been suppressed. Thus, "to obstruct or impede the due administration of justice is per se unlawful and is tantamount to doing the act corruptly." Ogle at 238 (emphasis added). Thus, where a defendant has endeavored to obstruct a criminal proceeding, the "advantage inconsistent with the duties and rights of others" is so clear that courts have often been willing to impute the desire to obtain such advantage on a per se basis. Nevertheless, the requirement that the obstruction be done "corruptly" remains of independent significance. It is true that any endeavor to obstruct justice if accompanied by the requisite corrupt intent can be a violation of section 1503, and that the corrupt intent may often be inferred from the endeavor itself. United States v. Howard, 569 F.2d 1331 (5th Cir.1978). Such "endeavors" need not involve force or threats of force; in this sense section 1503 and section 1505 have been given a "broad and all-inclusive meaning." United States v. Browning, 630 F.2d 694, 701 (10th Cir.1980). But this does not mean the statutes are to be given a sweep beyond the meaning of their language. Criminal statutes are to be strictly construed, Federal Maritime Comm. v. Seatrain Lines, 411 U.S. 726, 93 S.Ct. 1773, 36 L.Ed.2d 620 (1973); and sections 1503, 1505 and 7212(a) are certainly not exceptions to this rule. United States v. Baker, 494 F.2d 1262 (6th Cir.1974) (holding that section 1503 is to be strictly construed). A strict construction of the...