United States v. Painters Local Union No. 481

• Decision Date: 08 February 1949
• Docket Number: No. 139,Docket 21162.,139
• Citation: 172 F.2d 854
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. PAINTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 481 et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

172 F.2d 854 (1949)

UNITED STATES v. PAINTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 481 et al.

No. 139, Docket 21162.

United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit.

February 8, 1949.

J. Albert Woll, Herbert S. Thatcher and James A. Glenn, all of Washington, D. C. (William S. Gordon, Jr. and Mary C. Fitzgerald, both of Hartford, Conn., of counsel), for defendants-appellants.

Alexander M. Campbell, Asst. Atty. Gen., Adrian W. Maher, U. S. Atty., of New Haven, Conn. (George R. Gallagher and Rosalie M. Moynahan, Attorneys, Department of Justice, both of Washington, D. C., of counsel), for United States.

Before AUGUSTUS N. HAND, CLARK and FRANK, Circuit Judges.

AUGUSTUS N. HAND, Circuit Judge.

The defendants were indicted for violations of Section 313 of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act, as amended by Section 304 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act, 2 U.S.C.A. § 251, now 18 U.S.C.A. § 610. Section 313, as so amended, with the additions made by the 1947 Act in italics is set forth in the margin.¹ It prohibits corporations and labor organizations from making contributions or expenditures in connection with federal elections, primary elections, political conventions or caucuses.

The indictment contained six counts, two charging the Painters Local Union No. 481 with making an expenditure to purchase a political advertisement in a newspaper and to purchase radio time for a political broadcast in connection with a convention to be held to select candidates for the office of Presidential and Vice-Presidential electors; two counts with making similar expenditures in connection with a convention to be held to select candidates for Representatives in Congress; and two counts charged the defendant O'Brien, as President of the Union, with consenting to the expenditures made by the Union.

After the court had denied a motion to dismiss the indictment on constitutional grounds the defendants pleaded not guilty and waived trial by jury. The facts are not in dispute and are based upon a stipulation entered into by the parties at the trial, which resulted in a finding by the court of which the following is a summary:

The Union was an organization of employees in the painting trades in Hartford, Connecticut, area, and was a labor organization within the meaning of Section 313. On or about January 2, 1948, the Union expended its funds to pay the costs of a political advertisement in The Hartford Times, of Hartford, Connecticut, a daily newspaper of general circulation, and to pay the costs of a political radio broadcast over Radio Station WKNB, of New Britain, Connecticut, a commercial radio station. The defendants had no financial or other interest, direct or indirect, in The Hartford Times or Station WKNB. The advertisement and the radio broadcast advocated the rejection of Senator Robert A. Taft as a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States and his defeat in the 1948 presidential election, if nominated; the advertisement and broadcast also advocated the rejection of the six Connecticut incumbent Congressmen as candidates for reelection on the Republican ticket and their defeat in the 1948 Congressional elections, if nominated. The advertisement and broadcast were directed specifically to the Connecticut Republican Party Convention to be held in May of 1948, the Republican National Convention to be held in June of 1948, the Connecticut Republican Congressional Conventions to be held in the summer of 1948, and the election to be held on November 2, 1948, for presidential electors and Representatives in Congress. The expenditures for the advertisement and broadcast, and the scope, purpose and subject-matter thereof, were duly authorized by the Union at a special membership meeting. The cost of the political advertisement was $111.14, and the cost of the radio broadcast was $32.50. Both were paid for by checks signed for the defendant Union by its President, the defendant O'Brien, duly authorized. The funds were derived from the general treasury of the defendant Union; the general treasury, in turn, was derived from dues and fees paid by members of the Union. Except for a small portion deposited in a special sick benefit fund, no portion of the dues and fees was allocated for any particular account or activity of the Union. The defendant O'Brien, in his capacity as President of the defendant Union, consented to the expenditures by the Union for the advertisement and radio broadcast. Both at the close of the Government's case and at the close of all the evidence, the defendants moved for judgment of acquittal; the motions were denied. The court thereupon noted a verdict of guilty. A motion was then made by the defendants in arrest of judgment, which was denied by the court. Each of these motions was predicated solely on the constitutional grounds initially raised by the motion to dismiss the indictment. Exceptions were taken by the defendants to the denial of each of their motions. The court thereupon sentenced the defendant Union to pay a fine of $200 on each of four counts of the indictment, and sentenced the defendant O'Brien to pay a fine of $100 on each of the two counts of the indictment and judgments were entered accordingly.

The defendants each appealed from the...