United States v. Bridges, 28876.

• Decision Date: 12 August 1954
• Docket Number: No. 28876.,28876.
• Citation: 123 F. Supp. 705
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. BRIDGES.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of California

123 F. Supp. 705

UNITED STATES v. BRIDGES.

No. 28876.

United States District Court, N. D. California, S. D.

August 12, 1954.

Lloyd H. Burke, U. S. Atty., Lynn J. Gillard, Chief Asst. U. S. Atty., San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiff.

Gladstein, Andersen & Leonard, San Francisco, Cal., Telford Taylor, Washington, D. C., for defendant.

HAMLIN, District Judge.

This is an action instituted by the United States against Harry Renton Bridges. The complaint seeks to cancel a decree of naturalization obtained by Bridges in 1945, on the grounds (1) that Bridges illegally procured a decree and certificate of naturalization in that in the period of ten years preceding the filing of his petition for naturalization he had been, and at the time of his naturalization he was, a member of and affiliated with an organization which advised and taught the overthrow by violence of the government of the United States and that Bridges believed in and supported the principles of said organization (the Communist Party), and (2) that said decree and certificate of naturalization were fraudulently procured in that Bridges concealed his alleged membership in the Communist Party from the Court hearing the naturalization petition by falsely representing to said Court that he had not been affiliated with and had not been a member of said organization at any time.

On the same day this petition was filed (May 25, 1949), the Grand Jury indicted Bridges for (1) conspiring with others to secure Bridges' naturalization by fraudulently representing that he had never belonged to the Communist Party of the United States and (2) for having fraudulently made, contrary to law, a false statement under oath in his naturalization proceedings. On September 24, 1949, Bridges filed a motion to dismiss this civil action. On October 12, 1949, all proceedings in the civil action were stayed by order of court pending the outcome of the criminal action. On June 15, 1953, the criminal case was finally disposed of when the United States Supreme Court reversed the conviction obtained in the case on the grounds that the action was barred by the statute of limitations. Bridges v. United States, 1953, 346 U.S. 209, 73 S.Ct. 1055, 97 L.Ed. 1557. Subsequent to this reversal, an amendment to the motion to dismiss and a motion to strike were made by Bridges, and those, together with the original motion to dismiss, were placed on the calendar for hearing.

In these motions, Bridges makes three principal contentions: (1) That the question of whether or not he has been a member of the Communist Party has been litigated between these same parties and determined in his, Bridges', favor and is res judicata; (2) That the complaint does not properly charge Bridges with having "illegally procured the certificate of naturalization"; and (3) That the prosecution of the present proceeding is a violation of due process of law to Bridges.

In order to understand these contentions, a history of the proceedings between the United States and Bridges may be helpful.

In 1939 a deportation hearing was had in which it was charged that Bridges was at that time, as well as previously, a member of an organization that advocated the overthrow of the government by violence. 8 U.S.C.A. § 137(c),¹ as it read then, excluded aliens "who are members of or affiliated with any organization * * * that * * * advocates * * * the overthrow by force or violence of the Government * * *." A hearing was held before James M. Landis in which he concluded that the evidence failed to establish that Bridges was at that time a member of or affiliated with the Communist Party. This was affirmed by the Secretary of Labor in January of 1940. (Hereafter, this will be referred to as the Landis-Perkins proceedings.)

After an amendment in the law a second deportation hearing was held in 1941 at which the Honorable Charles B. Sears was the hearing officer. The finding was that the Communist Party was an organization of the kind described in the statute, that the Marine Workers' Industrial Union was affiliated with the Communist Party and was an organization of the same character, and that Bridges had been affiliated with both organizations and had been a member of the Communist Party. This finding was reversed by the Board of Immigration Appeals which in turn was reversed by the Attorney General. Bridges was taken into custody and sought habeas corpus. This was denied, Ex parte Bridges, D.C., 49 F.Supp. 292. The Circuit Court affirmed in 9 Cir., 144 F.2d 927. In Bridges v. Wixon, 1945, 326 U.S. 135, 65 S.Ct. 1443, 89 L.Ed. 2103, the two lower courts were reversed by the United States Supreme Court. The majority held that the hearing officer erroneously interpreted "affiliation" and that the hearing was unfair on the question of Bridges' membership in the Communist Party. (Hereafter referred to as the Sears-Wixon proceedings.)

Shortly thereafter, Bridges sought and received a decree of naturalization on September 17, 1945, from the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the City and County of San Francisco. The United States appeared therein, but did not contest this decree.

In 1949 the above mentioned criminal proceedings were brought against Bridges in this court. Bridges was convicted by a jury in April, 1950. The conviction was affirmed by the Circuit Court. Bridges v. United States, 9 Cir., 1952, 199 F.2d 811. Thereafter, the conviction was reversed by the Supreme Court in Bridges v. United States, 1953, 346 U.S. 209, 73 S.Ct. 1055, on the grounds that the statute of limitations had run on the action. (Hereafter referred to as the criminal proceedings.)

This action was then activated, the amendment to the motion to dismiss and the motion to strike were filed, and the motions were set for hearing. Briefs were filed and the case was argued at length.

Bridges' first contention is that his membership in or affiliation with the Communist Party has been determined adversely to the Government by the Landis-Perkins hearing and that that administrative hearing is res judicata of this issue as of the date of that hearing. The same contention was made in the criminal proceedings and determined adversely to Bridges. The Circuit Court said at 199 F.2d at page 826 that "the proceedings do not act as an estoppel to, nor res judicata of, the prosecutions in the present action, * * *."

Bridges' second contention is that the Sears-Wixon proceedings determined this same issue in his favor and that this likewise is res judicata of that issue as of 1941, the date of the Sears decision. The Ninth Circuit Court in the criminal proceedings, however, likewise determined this issue contrary to Bridges' contention. That court said 199 F.2d at page 827 "As for the administrative hearing, it would not be res judicata for the same reasons as assigned to the 1938 (sic) hearing before Dean Landis" and "we have reached the conclusion that Bridges v. Wixon, supra, did not decide that Bridges had never been a Communist * * * and is not res judicata to the case here on appeal."

The Supreme Court in reversing the lower courts in the criminal proceedings did not pass on Bridges' first two contentions. However, in the dissent it was stated 346 U.S. 209, 73 S.Ct. 1068 "None of these, though, are res judicata, since this is a criminal cause. Nor can collateral estoppel be invoked. There has been no court holding that Bridges has not been a Communist. The Landis determination of then nonmembership was not a judicial one. Pearson v. Williams, 202 U.S. 281, 26 S.Ct. 608, 50 L.Ed. 1029. In Bridges v. Wixon, supra, no holding on the factual question of membership was reached."

Bridges' third contention is that the Naturalization Court's decree granting citizenship is res judicata of this issue. The contention is that the statute² permitting upset of such judgments for illegality or fraud is merely declaratory of existing law and that under existing law this judgment cannot be upset in the manner in which the Government is now trying to do. The many cases cited that permit the setting aside of naturalization judgments are said to be because the court did not have jurisdiction in that one of the jurisdictional procedural steps were not taken.

However, in Knauer v. United States, 1946, 328 U.S. 654, 66 S.Ct. 1304, 1306, 90 L.Ed. 1500, the action was similar to the present action. The contention was that Knauer took a false oath when he swore allegiance and thus obtained his citizenship by fraud, and this was held to be grounds for denaturalization. The Court said "fraud connotes perjury, falsification, concealment, misrepresentation." It does not appear that the United States took any part in the naturalization proceedings. The Court held that the naturalization judgment was not res judicata.

In Maney v. United States, 1928, 278 U.S. 17, 49 S.Ct. 15, 73 L.Ed. 156, a certificate of naturalization was granted in a contested case. At the time of the filing of the petition there was no certificate on file from the Department of Labor stating the date, place, and manner of arrival in the United States, and the declaration of intention of such petitioner which the Act required. The naturalization court permitted the filing of the missing certificate nunc pro tunc, as of the date when the petition was filed. The United States did not appeal, but instead, filed an action under Section 15 of the Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. § 738 of the 1940 Act, charging that the naturalization decree was "illegally obtained." The Supreme Court held that the prior judgment was not res judicata and permitting the setting aside of the former judgment of naturalization.

United...