Goldstein v. State

• Decision Date: 08 May 1959
• Docket Number: No. 217,217
• Parties: Hyman GOLDSTEIN v. STATE of Maryland.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

Page 39

220 Md. 39

150 A.2d 900

Hyman GOLDSTEIN v. STATE of Maryland.

No. 217.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

May 8, 1959.

Max Sokol, Emanuel H. Horn on the brief, Baltimore, for appellant.

Clayton A. Dietrich, Asst. Atty. Gen. (C. Ferdinand Sybert, Atty. Gen., J. Harold Grady, State's Atty. for Baltimore City, John A. O'Connor, Jr., Asst. State's Atty. for Baltimore City, Baltimore, on the brief), for appellee.

Before BRUNE, C. J., and HENDERSON, HAMMOND, PRESCOTT and HORNEY, JJ.

HENDERSON, Judge.

This appeal is from a judgment and sentence of Hyman Goldstein, commanding officer of the Enforcement Unit, Rackets Division of the Baltimore City Police Department, to serve three years in the Maryland House of Correction, after his conviction by a jury on a charge of suborning Herbert Meekins and Charles Richter, police officers under his command, to perjure themselves as prosecuting witnesses in the lottery case of State v. Taylor, tried June 28, 1957, in the Criminal Court of Baltimore.

The appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction, but relies upon four alleged errors in the rulings of the trial court: (1) that the court improperly limited the scope of examination of prospective jurors upon their voir dire, (2) that the court improperly denied a motion for continuance, (3) that the court erred in its instructions to the jury, particualrly on burden of proof, and (4) that the court improperly overruled a challenge to the array based on a handbook furnished to the jurors before the trial.

To understand the contentions made, it is necessary to relate some of the background of the case. In September, 1957, certain charges of misconduct on the part of undisclosed members of the Rackets Division were made public by the Criminal Justice Commission, in connection with an alleged prostitute. During the ensuing investigation, a sergeant in the Division committed suicied. Certain witnesses called by the Grand Jury claimed privilege against self-incrimination. Goldstein and his superior officer, Forrester, were suspended from duty; and indictments were returned against them for malfeasance in office and maintaining a disorderly house, but never brought to trial. The present indictment against them was filed on November 14, 1957, and assigned for trial in May, 1958. Early in 1958, and before the trial, the cases of the persons tried on the testimony of Richter and Meekins were quashed. The first trial of these cases had resulted in a mistrial. All of these matters received wide publicity.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty and elected a jury trial, and the case went to trial on May 12, 1958. They filed a challenge to the array on the ground that a certain handbook had been furnished the prospective jurors, which was claimed to be misleading and prejudicial. They also submitted a list of some thirty-four questions to be propounded to the prospective jurors on their voir dire, which the court declined to propound. Instead, the court framed six questions of its own. On the second day of the trial, the court was informed by the bailiff that several of the jurors had received telephone calls from persons unknown to them, with reference to the pending case. The court sent for all counsel, and in their presence and in the presence of the defendants, interviewed each of the jurors and alternates. Thereupon the court declared a mistrial, with the following statement: 'A dastardly and criminal attempt has been made to influence the jury in this case. I am convinced that this criminal attempt was made without the knowledge in any way of the State's Attorney, counsel for the defendants or by the defendants.

'I am asking the State's Attorney immediately to undertake a vigorous investigation of this criminal act, and to report to me the results of the investigation. I am sure that counsel for the defendants and the defendants will cooperate to the best of their ability with the State's Attorney's office in this investigation.'

The case was again set for trial on June 9, 1958. At the beginning of the trial, after the defendants had renewed their previous motions, which were denied, the State's Attorney, in colloquy with the court, stated that his investigation had not disclosed the identity of the persons who had attempted to tamper with the previous jury. He pointed out, however, that it was not necessarily true that the tampering had been 'done by persons desiring to harm the defendants * * * the act may have been aimed to render some assistance to the defendants.' The court stated that it would frame an additional question on the voir dire relating to the mistrial, and would repeat to the jury the court's statement made in declaring the mistrial, which had received wide publicity, and that he would tell the jury that the State's Attorney's investigation was still continuing. Counsel for the defendants objected to going to trial and moved that 'the case be continued until after the investigation is completed.' The court denied the motion.

As the court had indicated, it framed an additional question to the jurors on their voir dire, reciting the previous action taken, and asking: 'Have you formed or expressed any opinion about the mistrial or anything in connection therewith, based on any statement or report from any source whatsoever, which would prevent you from rendering a fair and impartial verdict based solely on the law and the evidence in the case?' It also told the jury: 'You are not to speculate as to the reasons for that mistrial or anything in connection with it. That is in no sense evidence in this case. It has, however, had one unfortunate effect. I have determined that it is advisable and necessary for the proper administration of justice and to protect you from any possible harassment that you be sequestered for the duration of this trial * * *. This step * * * means that at all times when you are not here in the court room or upstairs in your jury room, * * * you will be in a hotel where all your reasonable wants will be attended to, of course, at public expense. This step is taken by me on my own initiative and my own responsibility, not at the request of either counsel for the defense * * *.'

At the conclusion of the case the jury found both defendants guilty. They filed motions for new trial, which were granted by the Supreme Bench as to Forrester, denied as to Goldstein. The trial court then imposed the sentence and entered the judgment from which the appeal comes here.

We think it unnecessary to quote verbatim the questions framed and propounded by the court to the prospective jurors on their voir dire. In essence, the questions were: Whether any of the jurors were related by blood or marriage to any of the five persons named in the indictment; whether they had such bias, prejudice or opinion as to prevent their giving the accused the benefit of the rules as to the presumption of innocence and burden of proof (stating them); whether they had formed or expressed any opinion of guilt or innocence from any statement or report from any news source or person, which would prevent them from rendering a fair and impartial verdict based solely on the law and evidence in the case; whether the fact that several other members of the Police Department had been charged with (but not convicted of) the commission of criminal offenses would prevent a fair and impartial verdict; whether they had any bias or prejudice for or against members of the Police Department; and whether they had any bias or prejudice against anyone because of race or religion.

The questions proposed by the appellant's counsel sought to elicit answers as to whether any of the prospective jurors knew, or were related to, a large number of specific groups, including the Grand Jury, the Criminal Justice Commission, its secretary, the Rackets Division, named members of the State police, City police, Attorney General's office, and many other persons, some of whom testified in the case, and some remain unidentified. They also inquired whether the jurors had discussed the case with Alvin J. T. Zumbrun, secretary of the Criminal Justice Commission, or attended any gathering at which he spoke; whether they had had any...