Hardy v. United States

• Decision Date: 25 October 1927
• Docket Number: No. 4939.,4939.
• Parties: HARDY v. UNITED STATES.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

22 F.2d 153 (1927)

HARDY v. UNITED STATES.

No. 4939.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

October 25, 1927.

Casper Wiseman, of Savannah, Ga. (Aaron Kravitch, of Savannah, Ga., on the brief), for plaintiff in error.

Chas. L. Redding, Asst. U. S. Atty., of Savannah, Ga.

Before WALKER, BRYAN, and FOSTER, Circuit Judges.

BRYAN, Circuit Judge.

John E. Hardy was convicted as charged in two indictments, which were consolidated for trial.

He was charged in one indictment with having made a false oath to a schedule in bankruptcy, in that he represented that he had no cash on hand, whereas in truth and in fact he had $5,000 in money; and in the other indictment he was charged with having concealed, while a bankrupt, $5,000 from his trustee. The oath which it was alleged was false was put in evidence. It was in the form required by the Bankruptcy Act (11 USCA § 25), and on its face appears to have been signed and sworn to by defendant before Miss Mary E. Robidear, a notary public. Miss Robidear testified that she had no independent recollection of the details of the taking of this particular oath, but that it was her custom always to require a person signing an affidavit before her to swear to the truth of its contents, and that she never intentionally varied from this custom. Miss Robidear was also stenographer for the attorney who prepared and dictated to her in defendant's presence the information contained in the schedule in question. The defendant admitted that he signed the oath and schedule, and testified that he did so at the request and in the presence of his attorney, while Miss Robidear was not present; that within a few minutes she came into the office where he and the attorney were, and asked the latter if he was through with the papers, and, upon receiving from him an affirmative reply, picked them up and walked out; and that he was not sworn by her or by any one else.

A witness for the government, J. M. Blakewood, testified that three or four days before the petition in bankruptcy was filed, while he was in a restaurant, he saw defendant pull out a roll of bills in which were contained several bills of the denomination of $1,000 each. A witness called by defendant testified that Blakewood stated in his presence that, when the defendant went to pay for his lunch, some one said, "Look at the $1,000 bills;" that he then glanced up at the money, and thought it contained some $1,000 bills, but was not positive. The court refused defendant's...