United States v. Hoffa

• Decision Date: 10 May 1967
• Docket Number: Crim. No. 11989.
• Citation: 268 F. Supp. 732
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. James R. HOFFA, Thomas Ewing Parks, Larry Campbell and Ewing King.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Tennessee

268 F. Supp. 732

UNITED STATES of America v. James R. HOFFA, Thomas Ewing Parks, Larry Campbell and Ewing King.

Crim. No. 11989.

United States District Court E. D. Tennesssee, S. D.

May 10, 1967.

Robert J. Rosthal, Michael T. Epstein, William O. Bittman, Austin Mittler, Daniel Schultz, Theodore George Gilinsky, U. S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., J. H. Reddy, U. S. Atty., Chattanooga, Tenn., for the Government.

Morris A. Shenker, St. Louis, Mo., Daniel B. Maher, Washington, D. C., for James R. Hoffa.

Jacques M. Schiffer, Rockville Centre, for Thomas Ewing Parks.

Cecil D. Branstetter, Nashville, Tenn., for Larry Campbell.

Harold E. Brown, Chattanooga, Tenn., P. D. Maktos, Washington, D. C., for Ewing King.

OPINION

FRANK W. WILSON, District Judge.

This case is before the Court upon a motion for new trial filed on behalf of each defendant, James R. Hoffa, Thomas Ewing Parks, Larry Campbell, and Ewing King. The motion was filed in this court upon February 28, 1967, and amended upon April 3, 1967.

The defendants were each convicted on March 4, 1964, of violating the Federal Obstruction of Justice Act (18 U.S.C. § 1503) in that they did willfully endeavor to influence, intimidate and impede jurors in the discharge of their duties. An original motion for new trial was filed on behalf of each defendant immediately after the trial. That motion was overruled. Thereupon an appeal was taken on behalf of each defendant, resulting in the conviction of each defendant being affirmed by the Court of Appeals on July 29, 1965. United States v. Hoffa, 349 F.2d 20.

Certiorari having been granted by the United States Supreme Court, the conviction of each defendant was affirmed by that Court upon December 12, 1966. Hoffa v. United States, 385 U.S. 293, 87 S.Ct. 408, 17 L.Ed.2d 374. A rehearing was denied by the United States Supreme Court upon February 27, 1967. Hoffa v. United States, 386 U.S. 940, 87 S.Ct. 970, 17 L.Ed.2d 880. The defendants were thereupon committed to the custody of the Attorney General to commence serving their respective sentences upon March 7, 1967.

Meanwhile, and during the pendency of the above appeal, a second and third motion for new trial were filed on behalf of each defendant. These motions, based upon allegations of newly discovered evidence, were denied by this Court. United States v. Hoffa, D.C., 245 F.Supp. 772; United States v. Hoffa, D.C., 247 F.Supp. 692. The action of this Court in denying the second motion was affirmed by the Court of Appeals by an opinion filed May 2, 1967. (Nos. 16,567; 16,568; 16,569; and 16,570). 376 F.2d 1020.

The present motion for new trial, being the fourth motion for new trial and the third such motion based upon allegations of newly discovered evidence, asserts that the defendants have recently acquired information that they and their attorneys were subject to unlawful surveillance by government agents by means of wiretapping, electronic eavesdropping or other intrusions both prior to and during the trial in which they were convicted. The motion is supported by a number of affidavits. The Government responded to the present motion, denying each allegation of surveillance, wiretapping, electronic eavesdropping or other intrusions upon the defendants' rights and filed a number of affidavits in support of such denials. Upon this state of the record, and as prayed for in the defendants' motion, an evidentiary hearing was ordered by the Court upon the issues of fact raised in the defendants' motion as amended and the Government's response thereto. By order entered March 27, 1967, the evidentiary hearing was set to commence upon May 8, 1967. Upon request of the Government and the defendants consenting thereto, the commencement of the evidentiary hearing was delayed until May 9, 1967.

Upon the date of the hearing, May 9, 1967, the defendants each appeared in open court with their respective counsel and moved the Court for a continuance of the evidentiary hearing for a period of 90 days, the motion for continuance being predicated upon the allegation that counsel for the defendants had recently received information which in their opinion made it improper for them to proceed. The nature of the information was not disclosed unto the Court, other than to advise the Court that such information related to the matters in issue in the evidentiary hearing and that counsel did not feel that, as a matter of ethics, they could proceed with the evidentiary hearing, nor did they feel that they could disclose the information under their obligations unto their respective clients. The motion for continuance was thereupon denied.

A motion was then made on behalf of each defendant to be allowed to dismiss the present motion for new trial, such dismissal to be without prejudice to their right to refile the same or any portion thereof. The motion to be allowed to dismiss was based upon the same grounds as stated in support of the motion to continue, and was likewise denied by the Court. Thereupon the defendants were called upon to present any matters or introduce any evidence which they wished to present or introduce in support of their motion...