U.S. v. Haala

• Decision Date: 12 March 1976
• Docket Number: No. 75-1353,75-1353
• Citation: 532 F.2d 1324
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Marie Theresa HAALA, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

Page 1324

532 F.2d 1324

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Marie Theresa HAALA, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 75-1353.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

Argued Jan. 27, 1976.

Decided Feb. 19, 1976.

Rehearing Denied March 12, 1976.

John E. Green, Acting U. S. Atty., Oklahoma City, Okl., for plaintiff-appellee.

George S. Corbyn, Jr., Berry, Nesbitt & Berry, Oklahoma City, Okl., for defendant-appellant.

Before HOLLOWAY, BARRETT and DOYLE, Circuit Judges.

WILLIAM E. DOYLE, Circuit Judge.

The defendant-appellant was convicted, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1716, of the charge that on June 25, 1974, at Stillwater, Oklahoma, she knowingly and willfully caused to be delivered by United States Mail to one Beverly Oines, a nonmailable thing described in the indictment as an infernal machine which contained a composition which might ignite or explode, and kill or injure another, or injure the mails or other property. The indictment's continued allegation was that it was addressed to Mrs. Beverly Oines at her residence in Stillwater, Oklahoma, with postage affixed which had been cancelled at St. Joseph, Missouri. The further allegation was that this mailing of an explosive was with intent to kill or injure Beverly Oines.

Beverly Ann Oines testified that on the morning of June 25, 1974, at her home in Stillwater, Oklahoma, she received a package which exploded when she opened it. She said the package was the size of a child's shoe box which was wrapped in brown paper and had no return address. She further said that her daughter handed it to her. Mrs. Oines opened the package at once, using her fingernail to open the side and then to fully open it. It exploded as she started lifting. Pictures of the package as it was opened were identified. The first thing she did was put the fire out on her clothes and then call the police. She suffered burns on her arms and scars on her arms and chest from the burns. She also had trouble with her eyes during that summer. The police took the exploded bomb with them, it having been placed in the sink by Mrs. Oines.

Mrs. Oines stated that she had known the defendant for a period of nine or ten years, having first met her when she was a student of Mrs. Oines' husband and that she was a close friend of the family. To her knowledge, her husband and defendant had an intimate affair; in fact, defendant had a child as a result of it.

The alleged errors do not pertain to the sufficiency of the evidence but, rather, are contentions that the trial court erred in its rulings.

First, in its failure to suppress the fruits of the search of the defendant's apartment and mountain cabin, the contention being that the warrants were invalid were insufficient to constitute probable cause.

Second, the trial court erred in admitting the testimony of Inspector William J. Penley.

Third, the trial court erred in receiving the testimony of Postal Inspector Robb to the effect that defendant made a call to her attorney and her doctor and then refused to make any statement.

Fourth, the court's alleged error in refusing to give defendant's requested instruction on the theory of the case.

The affidavit of Inspector Marsicek seeking to search a certain 1974 Volkswagen Van registered to the defendant attested that he had reason to believe that certain articles listed in the affidavit for a search warrant were concealed in the vehicle. The affidavit went on: "That this affiant has received information from an expert fingerprint examiner who confirmed that Marie Theresa Haala's fingerprints were found on the inside wrapping of the subject parcel." Also alleged is that the defendant had an intimate relationship with Ronald K. Oines, husband of the victim, which resulted in the birth of a child approximately six years before. It also states that subsequent to the adoption of the child, defendant mailed a letter to Ronald K. Oines, husband of the victim, threatening the victim's children; that the relationship between defendant and Mr. Ronald K. Oines had continued. Also alleged is the fact that the defendant is an earth science teacher trained in the sciences and possesses knowledge to construct an explosive device.

Other facts are contained in the affidavit, but the items mentioned are relied on as being sufficient to constitute probable cause for the issuance by the Magistrate of the search warrant which produced masking tape and Scotch Tape, items described in the affidavit for the search warrant.

A search warrant was also issued directed to the premises owned by defendant at Mountain Lake, Minnesota, an apartment. Like the warrant alluded to it attested that the numerous items of property set forth in the other affidavits were concealed there. It described the fingerprint evidence and the evidence of motive, the intimate relationship between the husband of the victim and the defendant.

Numerous items of property recovered in the search of the Mountain Lake property included a battery, a lantern soldering iron, shoe boxes, pieces of brown paper, black powder, a piece of wood with masking tape, rubber cement, pliers, round file, masking tape, contact cement, Duco Cement, wire cutters, cellophane tape, insulated wire and two other round files.

A further warrant was issued for the search of the dormitory room of the defendant at the University of Northern Iowa. Virtually the same factual material supported this. In this search there was recovered masking tape, cellophane tape and copper wire. The articles found in the searches were identified as similar to materials that were in the subject package.

A further controversial area concerns a summary of a statement of defendant. The defendant sought in a discovery motion "any and all admissions made by the defendant including summaries of any statements." The government's response was that it had no such statements. At a hearing on the motion, a request was made for any and all summaries of statements. The district attorney denied knowledge of any such summary. The court then said that if it developed that such statements existed they would not be allowed to be introduced. At trial the government produced a summary of statements which the defendant had made during a lengthy interrogation conducted by Inspector Penley. Most of this was not inculpating. Inspector Penley did bring out a circumstance which had probative value. Defendant had misspelled the name of the street where Beverly Oines lived in the same manner that it had been misspelled on the bomb parcel. On cross-examination Penley identified a certain paper as being a series of notes condensed by him reflecting the questions he asked defendant and the answers she gave.

Postal Inspector Robb, who questioned the defendant immediately after she had been placed under arrest, testified that he apprised her of her rights and told her that he wanted to discuss the matter under investigation. She replied that she did not care to answer any questions.

The defendant brought out through government witnesses and through witnesses called on her behalf extensive evidence showing that on the date of the mailing from St. Joseph, Missouri, she was either at the University of Northern Iowa or on a field trip for her palentology class at a place called Rockford, Iowa, north of Cedar All of this was designed to prove the impossibility of her having been present at the St. Joseph, Missouri Post Office to mail the package. It supported her tendered instruction (which the court rejected) submitting the alibi issue to the jury.

Falls. After the field trip, she went to Mountain Lake, Minnesota, and on June 15 returned to her parents' house in Springfield, Minnesota, where she remained until June 16, Sunday.

I.

THE ALLEGED ERROR OF THE TRIAL COURT IN DENYING THE MOTION

OF DEFENDANT TO SUPPRESS THE AFFIDAVITS IN SUPPORT

OF THE SEARCH WARRANTS

The main assertion is that the affidavits are not factual but are conclusory and therefore are legally inadequate. The argument ignores the effect of the fingerprint of the accused being shown to have been on the paper which was used in the bomb parcel or package. Similarly, it overlooks the evidence reflecting the existence of a motive on the part of the defendant to send the bomb the evidence of the long-term intimate relationship between the defendant and husband of the victim including the fact that Mr. Oines had fathered the defendant's child six years before and had continued seeing her up until the time in question. Nor does it recognize the evidence that the defendant was a scientist and had the knowledge and technique required to make a bomb of the character shown to have been sent.

True, probable cause must be shown in the affidavit; ^* a search and seizure is not to be justified by evidence which is uncovered in the search. See United States v. Dixon, 334 F.2d 322 (6th Cir. 1964), and see Marderosian v. United States, 337 F.2d 759 (1st Cir. 1964).

The accepted definition of probable cause requires facts and circumstances within a police officer's knowledge supported by reasonable trustworthy information sufficient to warrant a man of reasonable caution to believe that the offense had been or was being committed. Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925). See also 5 Orfield, Criminal Procedure under the Federal Rules, Section 41.39. The definitions thus recognize that probable cause demands a lesser quantity of evidence than that essential for a conviction.

The above definition of probable cause was applied in Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959). The Draper Court quoted with approval the oft-cited language in Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, at 175, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 93 L.Ed. 1879 (1949), to the effect that probable cause implies non-technical probabilities and factual and practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent men act.

A much more...