Hunter v. United States

• Citation: 62 F.2d 217
• Decision Date: 21 December 1932
• Docket Number: No. 6720.,6720.
• Parties: HUNTER v. UNITED STATES.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

62 F.2d 217 (1932)

HUNTER v. UNITED STATES.

No. 6720.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

December 21, 1932.

J. Q. Mahaffey, of Texarkana, Tex., for appellant.

S. D. Bennett, U. S. Atty., of Beaumont, Tex., for the United States.

Before BRYAN, FOSTER, and HUTCHESON, Circuit Judges.

BRYAN, Circuit Judge.

The appellant, George Hunter, was convicted upon an indictment which in separate counts charged him with the unlawful transportation, without the permit required by law, and with the sale, on March 29, 1932, of intoxicating liquor, to wit, a half-gallon of whisky, for beverage purposes; in violation of the National Prohibition Act (27 USCA § 12).

For proof of its case the government relied on the testimony of Arthur Satterfield, a prohibition agent, and of one Virgil White, whom he had hired generally to buy whisky for the purpose of getting up evidence against the sellers, and had specially directed to buy whisky from Hunter. Aside from the circumstance of this special direction, there was no proof that either Satterfield or White had reason to believe or suspect that Hunter was engaged in making illegal sales of liquor. White testified that on March 28, 1932, he first became acquainted with Hunter at the Grim Hotel, where he was introduced to him by Lee Davis; that thereupon he told Hunter that he, the witness, had the flu and would like to get a half-gallon of good whisky, and White replied in substance that he had come to the right man to get it. White did not say positively that he obtained whisky on the 28th, but did say that on the 29th, in response to his telephone call, Hunter delivered to him the half-gallon of whisky referred to in the indictment, for which he paid him $4, and that on this latter occasion he did not pretend that he wanted the whisky for any sick person. White was corroborated as to what he said over the telephone concerning delivery of the liquor and the price paid for it by Satterfield, who was present and arrested Hunter immediately after the liquor was delivered. Hunter admitted that on March 29th he transported and delivered the liquor and received $4 as the purchase price of it. As to the charge of sale, he claimed that he bought the liquor from a named person for $4 and therefore made no profit out of it; that he had no whisky for sale, and acted as White's agent in making the purchase. As against both charges of the indictment he relied on entrapment as a defense; and to sustain that defense he testified on direct examination in substance, though not literally except where he is directly quoted, as follows: I have known Virgil White by sight for several years, but did not know his name until he was introduced to me on March 28th by Lee Davis. When White was introduced to me, I told him that I had been seeing him a long time but never knew him by name. "He asked me if I knew where he could obtain some good liquor, that his mother was at home sick in bed with the flu." I said to him that he had been around town long enough to know who had liquor, and he replied that he had been "buying from people but it wasn't the kind of stuff to be used for the purpose, and he was not able to buy prescription liquor." "I told him I thought I would be able to get it for him, and he suggested going with me. I told him I did not believe I could carry him to this party — I didn't believe I could get it that way." There was only one transaction. On the next day, the 29th, he called me up on the telephone. I told him "I had made the connection," and at his request I carried the liquor around to his house where I was arrested.

When the district attorney completed his cross-examination of Hunter, the district judge subjected him to a gruelling cross-examination, and inquired at length as to the nature of his business, and, when he replied that he was engaged in selling and repairing motorcycles, inquired into the number of such sales and the extent of his repair work; asked what else he had been doing, and where he got the money to live on; demanded that he show his hands, and state whether he had any calloused places on them caused by repair work; inquired repeatedly as to the amount he had on deposit in the bank; as to where he spent his time, and if he did not spend most of it at the Grim Hotel where Lee Davis introduced White to him. Lee Davis testified, corroborating Hunter as to his introduction to White, and as to what White said about his mother being sick. He denied that he was Hunter's pal, but admitted that they had been well acquainted with each other for a long time. After the district attorney had finished his cross-examination of this...