Appendix Z
The Nature and Cause: Case Law
Reader's Notes:
MEMO
TO: Federal
Zone Readers
FROM: Paul
Andrew Mitchell
DATE: March
1, 1992
SUBJECT: More on
the 6th and 16th Amendments
I have recently
found an unusually clear and concise quote on the effect of a ratified 16th
Amendment among some Appellate decisions I have been reviewing. This quote will be incorporated into chapter
5 of the second edition of The Federal Zone. After reading either edition, you will know the logic: if a ratified 16th Amendment had effect X,
then a failed ratification proves that X did not happen. What is X?
Answer:
The
constitutional limitation upon direct taxation was modified by the Sixteenth
Amendment insofar as taxation of income was concerned, but the amendment
was restricted to income, leaving in effect the limitation upon direct taxation
of principal.
[Richardson v. United States, 294 F.2d 593
(1961)]
This ultra-clear ruling dovetails perfectly with the
work of author Jeffrey A. Dickstein but, unfortunately, this case is not
discussed in his book Judicial Tyranny (see the Bibliography).
My 6th
Amendment research has also merged perfectly with a parallel thesis of the
book, namely, that the IRC should be declared null and void for vagueness. It turns out that there is a ton of legal
precedent on the "nature and cause of the accusation". Our fundamental right to ignore vague and
arbitrary laws is deeply rooted in our fundamental right to due process. Here's the tentative new paragraph for
chapter 5:
The "void for vagueness"
doctrine is deeply rooted in our right to due process (under the Fifth
Amendment) and our right to know the nature and cause of an accusation (under
the Sixth Amendment). The latter right
goes far beyond the contents of any criminal indictment. The right to know the nature and cause of an
accusation starts with the statute which any defendant is accused of violating. A statute must be sufficiently specific and
unambiguous in all its terms, in order to define and give adequate notice of
the kind of conduct which it forbids.
If it fails to indicate with reasonable certainty just what conduct the
legislature prohibits, a statute is necessarily void for uncertainty, or
"void for vagueness" as it is usually phrased. Any prosecution which is based upon a vague
statute must fail together with the statute itself. A vague criminal statute is unconstitutional for violating the
6th Amendment.
With this
mountain of court precedent, we can now attack U.S. v. Hicks as well as U.S.
v. Bentson (see Appendix H). The
9th Circuit kept referring to the importance of "explicit statutory
requirements".
Well, are those statutory requirements explicit if they
utilize the key word "income" but don't even define it (because they
can't without violating the Eisner prohibition)?
Are they
explicit if they define "State" in such a way as to create confusion
about the precise limits of sovereign jurisdiction?
Are they explicit
if they qualify definitions by stating "where not otherwise manifestly
incompatible with the intent thereof", but never define the intent
thereof?
Can we ever
know the real intent of Congress, when Title 26 was never enacted into positive
law?
How can we
know which of the 3 official definitions of "United States" to apply
to the terms "United States citizen" and "United States
resident" when the IRC doesn't tell us, precisely and unambiguously, which
definition it is using?
How can we
ever expect to quiet the debate about "includes" and
"including", when the Treasury Department's own decision, published in 1927, frankly
admits that these terms have a long history of semantic confusion?
"This word has received considerable
discussion in opinions of the courts. It has been productive of much controversy."
Their own published Treasury Decision proves that Title
26 contains terms that have a documented history of controversy and confusion.
[following quotes from Modern Constitutional Law,
by Antineau]:
5:116.
Historical Considerations
The United
States Supreme Court has often recognized the relevance of the lessons of history in determining the particular
demands of due process of law. Due
process of law, says the Court, is "a historical product."
Justice
Frankfurter has aptly pointed out that the Sixth and Seventh Amendment
guarantees of criminal and civil jury trials are almost entirely defined by
historical materials. "The gloss
may be the deposit of history," he observes, "whereby a term gains
technical content. Thus the requirements of the Sixth and Seventh Amendments for trial by
jury in the federal courts have a rigid meaning."
[Modern Constitutional Law, by
Chester J. Antineau]
[The Lawyers Co-operative Publishing
Company]
[Rochester, New York, 1969, emphasis
added]
Footnotes cite the following cases:
Rochin v.
California, 342 U.S. 165 (1952)
Jackman v.
Rosenbaum Co., 260 U.S. 22 (1922)
5:118. The moral
basis of the norm
Due process of
law is defined in procedural cases by the Supreme Court with full consideration
to what society considers wrong and unfair.
Justice
Frankfurter, who contributed greatly to the definition and expansion of
procedural due process, stated in 1950:
"the Due Process Clause
embodies a system of rights based on moral principles so deeply embedded in
the traditions and feelings of our people as to be deemed fundamental to a
civilized society as conceived by our whole history." On many another occasion, the Court has
stressed the role of "conscience" in defining due process of law.
[Modern Constitutional Law, by
Chester J. Antineau]
[The Lawyers Co-operative Publishing
Company]
[Rochester, New York, 1969, emphasis
added]
Footnotes cite the following cases:
Solesbee
v. Balkcom, 339 U.S. 9 (1950)
Leland v.
Oregon, 343 U.S. 790 (1952)
Snyder v.
Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97 (1934)
[following quotes are from Rochin v. People of
California]:
Words being
symbols do not speak without a gloss.
On the one hand the gloss may be the deposit of history, whereby a term
gains technical content. Thus the requirements of the Sixth and
Seventh Amendments for trial by jury in the federal courts have a rigid
meaning. No changes or chances can
alter the content of the verbal symbol of "jury" -- a body of
twelve men who must reach a unanimous conclusion if the verdict is to go
against the defendant.3 On
the other hand, the gloss of some of the
verbal symbols of the Constitution does not give them a fixed technical content. It exacts a continuing process of
application.
____________________
3. This is the federal jury requirement
constitutionally although England and at least half of the States have in some civil
cases juries which are composed of less than 12 or whose verdict may be less
than unanimous. ...
[Rochin v. People of California,
342 U.S. 165, 169]
[emphasis added]
[Comment:
Accordingly, does not the "nature and cause of the accusation"
also have a rigid meaning, founded
on the lessons of history, so deeply embedded in the traditions and
feelings of our people as to be deemed fundamental
to a civilized society?]
[following quotes from Modern Constitutional Law,
by Antineau]:
5:5. Notice of the
Accusation
The Sixth
Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that every person accused
shall "be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation," and
the same rule is binding upon persons brought to trial in the state courts
under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Additionally, state constitutional clauses customarily provide that
"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be informed of the nature
and cause of the accusation against him."
A person
charged with a crime has the constitutional right to receive from the
government a written statement
indicating with particularity the offense to which he must plead and prepare a
defense. The necessity of such a
statement has been recognized by the Oklahoma appellate court which observes:
"Every person accused of an offense,
under the Constitution and statutes of this State, has a right to be informed
of the nature and cause of the accusation against him. ... It is difficult to
see how this can be safely and orderly accomplished without a definite written
accusation or complaint."
[Cole v. Arkansas, 333 U.S. 196 (1948)]
Charging a
person in the language of an unconstitutionally vague statute or ordinance is
violative of his constitutional rights.
An
information, indictment, complaint
or summons used to commence a criminal prosecution must contain sufficient facts and specific details to reasonably
apprise the defendant of the exact charge placed against him. The time, place and manner of the alleged
offense must customarily be set out.
The Supreme
Court has ruled that it violates due process for a state high court to affirm
convictions under a criminal statute for the violation of which the defendants
had not been charged. The Court stated:
No principle of procedural due process is
more clearly established than that notice
of the specific charge, and a chance to be heard in a trial of the issues
raised by that charge, if desired, are among the constitutional rights of every
accused in a criminal proceeding in all courts, state or federal. ... It is
as much a violation of due process to send an accused to prison following
conviction of a charge on which he was never tried as it would be to convict
him upon a charge that was never made.
[Cole v. Arkansas, 333 U.S. 196 (1948)]
[Modern Constitutional Law, by
Chester J. Antineau]
[The Lawyers Co-operative Publishing
Company]
[Rochester, New York, 1969]
[emphasis added]
Footnotes cite the following cases:
Cole v.
Arkansas, 333 U.S. 196 (1948)
Ex parte
Bochman, 201 P 537, 541 (1921)
Shreveport
v. Brewer, 72 So 2d 308 (1954)
Telheard
v. Bay St. Louis, 40 So 326 (1905)
Scott v.
Denver, 241 P2d 857 (1952)
Bellville
v. Kiernan, 121 A2d 411 (1956)
[Comment: A core
issue raised by the charge of violating 7203 is the definition of "any
person required." To assume that DEFENDANT was in the class
of persons required, is to make a conclusion of law, not to state a fact. What section of the IRC defines which
persons are required? Are Canadian
persons required? Are Australian
Aborigines required? The presiding
judge merely instructed the jury that "THE LAW REQUIRES EVERY CITIZEN
OF THIS COUNTRY TO FILE AN INCOME TAX RETURN." That is not what the statute says; that is not what the regulations say. The presiding judge misquoted the law in his
instructions to the trial jury.]
[following quotes from Cole v. Arkansas]:
2. Constitutional
law
Notice of
specific charge and a chance to be heard in a trial of the issues raised by that
charge, if desired, are among the constitutional rights of every accused in a
criminal proceeding. U.S.C.A. Const.
Amend. 14
3. Constitutional
law
It is as much
a violation of due process to send an accused to prison following conviction of
a charge on which he was never tried as it would be to convict him upon a
charge that was never made. U.S.C.A.
Const. Amend. 14
[2, 3] No
principle of procedural due process is more clearly established than that
notice of the specific charge, and a chance to be heard in a trial of the
issues raised by that charge, if desired, are among the constitutional rights
of every accused in a criminal proceeding in all courts, state or federal. In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257, 68 S.Ct.
499, and cases there cited. If, as the
State Supreme Court held, petitioners were charged with a violation of Section
1, it is doubtful both that the information fairly informed them of that charge
and that they sought to defend themselves against such a charge; it is certain that they were not tried for
or found guilty of it. It is as much a violation of due process to
send an accused to prison following conviction of a charge on which he was
never tried as it would be to convict him upon a charge that was never made. De Jonge v. State of Oregon, 299 U.S.
353, 362, 57 S.Ct. 255, 259, 81 L.Ed. 278.
We are
constrained to hold that the petitioners have been denied safeguards guaranteed
by due process of law -- safeguards
essential to liberty in a government
dedicated to justice under law.
[Cole v. Arkansas, 333 U.S.
196, 201 (1948)]
[emphasis added]
[following quotes from In re Oliver]:
11. Constitutional
law
A person's
right to reasonable notice of a charge against him and an opportunity to be
heard in his defense are basic, and such rights include, as a minimum, a right
to examine witnesses against him, to offer testimony, and to be represented by
counsel.
16. Constitutional
law
No man's
life, liberty or property may be forfeited as punishment until there has been a
charge fairly made and fairly tried in a public tribunal. U.S.C.A. Const. Amend. 14
[10, 11] We further hold that failure to afford the
petitioner a reasonable opportunity to defend himself against the charge of false
and evasive swearing was a denial of due process of law. A
person's right to reasonable notice of a charge against him, and an opportunity
to be heard in his defense -- a right to his day in court -- are basic in our
system of jurisprudence; and these
rights include, as a minimum, a right to examine witnesses against him, to
offer testimony, and to be represented by counsel.
[13, 14]
Except for a narrowly limited category of contempts, due process of law as explained in the Cooke case requires that one charged with contempt of
court be advised of the charges against him, have a reasonable opportunity to
meet them by way of defense or explanation, have the right to be
represented by counsel, and have a chance to testify and call other witnesses
in his behalf, either by way of defense or explanation.
[16] It is
"the law of the land" that no man's life, liberty or property be
forfeited as a punishment until there has been a charge fairly made and fairly
tried in a public tribunal. See Chambers
v. Florida, 309 U.S. 227, 236, 237, 60 S.Ct. 472, 477, 84 L.Ed. 716. The petitioner was convicted without that
kind of trial.
Michigan's
one-man grand jury, as exemplified by this record, combines in a single
official the historically separate powers of grand jury, committing magistrate,
prosecutor, trial judge and petit jury.
This aggregated authority denies to the accused not only the right to a
public trial, but also those other basic
protections secured by the Sixth Amendment, namely, the rights "to be informed
of the nature and cause of the accusation;1 to be confronted with the witnesses against
him; to have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his
defence."
____________________
1. The requirement, of course, contemplates
that the accused be so informed sufficiently
in advance of trial or sentence to enable him to determine the nature of
the plea to be entered and to prepare his defense if one is to be made.
[Comment: Since
the indictment contained a conclusion of
law that DEFENDANT was a "person required," he was therefore not
informed sufficiently in advance of trial to determine the nature of his
plea and to prepare his defense.]
I do not
conceive that the Bill of Rights, apart from the due process clause of the
Fifth Amendment, incorporates all such ideas.
But as far as its provisions go,
I know of no better substitutes. A few
may be inconvenient. But restrictions
upon authority for securing personal liberty, as well as fairness in trial to
deprive one of it, are always inconvenient -- to the authority so restricted. And in times like these I do not think
substitutions imported from other systems, including continental ones, offer
promise on the whole of more improvement than harm, either for the cause of
perfecting the administration of justice or for that of securing and perpetuating individual freedom, which is the main end
of our society as it is of our Constitution. ... [I]t
is both wiser and safer to put up with whatever inconveniences that charter
creates than to run the risk of losing its hard-won guaranties by dubious, if
also more convenient substitutions imported from alien traditions.9
____________________
9. ... Whatever
inconveniences these or any of them may be thought to involve are far
outweighed by the aggregate of security to the individual afforded by the Bill
of Rights. That aggregate cannot be
secured, indeed it may be largely defeated, so long as the states are left free
to make broadly selective application of its protections.
[In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257,
emphasis added]
[following quotes from United States v. Cruikshank]:
In criminal
cases, prosecuted under the laws of the United States, the accused has the
constitutional right "to be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation." Amend. VI. In U.S.
v. Mills, 7 Pet., 142, this was construed to mean that the indictment must
set forth the offense "with clearness and all necessary certainty, to
apprise the accused of the crime with which he stands charged;" and in U.S.
v. Cook, 17 Wall., 174 [84 U.S., XXI., 539], that "Every ingredient of which the offense is
composed must be accurately and clearly alleged." It is an elementary principle of criminal
pleading, that where the definition of an offense, whether it be at common law
or by statute, "includes generic terms, it is not sufficient that the indictment shall charge the offense in
the same generic terms as in the definition;
but it must state the species; it
must descend to particulars."
1 Arch. Cr. Pr. and Pl., 291. The object of the indictment is, first, to
furnish the accused with such a description of the charge against him as will
enable him to make his defense, and avail himself of his conviction or
acquittal for protection against a further prosecution for the same cause; and, second,
to inform the court of the facts alleged, so that it may decide whether they
are sufficient in law to support a conviction, if one should be had. For this, facts are to be stated, not
conclusions of law alone. A
crime is made up of acts and intent;
and these must be set forth in the indictment, with reasonable
particularity of time, place and circumstances.
[Comment: The
indictment contained a conclusion of law
that DEFENDANT was a "person required"; it did not establish that he was a "person required" as a matter of fact. The indictment also failed to specify every ingredient of the offense,
because it failed to specify which IRC section made DEFENDANT a "person
required."]
The accused has,
therefore, the right to have a specification of the charge against him in this
respect, in order that he may decide whether he should present his defense by
motion to quash, demurrer or plea; and
the court, that it may determine whether the facts will sustain the indictment.
... Therefore, the indictment should state the particulars, to inform the court as
well as the accused. It must be made to
appear -- that is to say, appear from the indictment, without going further --
that the acts charged will, if proved, support a conviction for the offense
alleged.
[Comment: If the
indictment did not cite the statute which made DEFENDANT a "person
required," then the act charged, i.e.,
failing to file, did not support a conviction for the alleged offense, even if
DEFENDANT admitted, under oath, that
he did not file.]
Vague and indefinite allegations of the kind are
not sufficient to inform the accused in a criminal prosecution of the nature
and cause of the accusation against him, within the meaning of the Sixth
Amendment of the Constitution.
Judge Story
says the indictment must charge the
time and place and nature and
circumstances of the offense with clearness and certainty, so that the
party may have full notice of the charge,
and be able to make his defense with all
reasonable knowledge and ability. 2
Story, Const., sec. 1785.
[Comment: An
indictment with conclusions of law is necessarily vague, indefinite, and insufficient to inform the accused of the
nature and cause of the accusation.
An indictment with conclusions of law does not exhibit clearness and certainty, so that DEFENDANT did not have full notice of the charge, nor was he able to make his defense with all reasonable knowledge and ability.]
Reasonable
certainty, all will agree, is required in criminal pleading .... Accused persons, as matter of common
justice, ought to have the charge against them set forth in such terms that they may readily understand the nature and character
of the accusation, in order that they, when arraigned, may know what answer to make to it, and that
they may not be embarrassed in
conducting their defense; and the
charge ought also to be laid in such terms that, if the party accused is put to
trial, the verdict and judgment may be pleaded in bar of a second accusation
for the same offense.
[Comment: If the
indictment did not state the statute which made DEFENDANT a "person
required," then it failed to provide DEFENDANT with reasonable certainty that he was in the class of persons who were
required to file in the years in question.
He did not know what answer to
make to the indictment and, in fact, refused to enter a plea. The mention of 6012 by an IRS witness embarrassed DEFENDANT.]
Descriptive allegations in criminal pleading are
required to be reasonably definite and certain, as a necessary safeguard to the accused against surprise, misconception
and error in conducting his defense, and in order that the judgment in the
case may be a bar to a second accusation for the same charge. Considerations of the kind are entitled to
respect; but it is obvious, that, if
such a description of the ingredient of an offense created and defined by an
Act of Congress is held to be sufficient, the indictment must become a snare to the accused; as it is scarcely possible that an
allegation can be framed which would be less certain, or more at variance with the universal rule that every ingredient
of the offense must be clearly and accurately described so as to bring the
defendant within the true intent and meaning of the provision defining the
offense. Such a vague and
indefinite description of a material ingredient of the defense [sic] is not a
compliance with the rules of pleading in framing an indictment. On the contrary, such an indictment is
insufficient, and must be held bad on demurrer or in arrest of judgment.
[United States v. Cruikshank,
92 U.S. 542, 557]
[Comment:
Similarly, the mention of 6012 by an IRS witness came as a surprise to
DEFENDANT (and to a gallery witness also, who almost jumped out of his seat
when the IRS witness first mentioned it).
The Court itself never mentioned 6012, nor did the Court read
this IRC section into the record. The
indictment must state every ingredient
or element of the offense
charged. The first element of
"failing to file" is that the defendant was a "person
required." But, required by
what? The indictment failed to state
which IRC section established the filing requirement.]
[Notes from Words and Phrases, Permanent Edition,
West Publishing Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, Volume 28]:
Under Const.
art. 1, section 13, entitling defendant to demand "nature and cause of
accusation" against him and to have copy thereof, defendant is entitled to have gist of offense charged in direct and unmistakable
terms. Large v. State, 164
N.E. 263, 264, 200 Ind. 430.
The words
"nature and cause of the accusation" in Const. Bill of Rights, art.
1, section 13, providing that an accused shall have the right to demand the
nature and cause of the accusation against him, mean that the gist of an offense shall be charged in direct and unmistakable
terms. Hinshaw v. State, 122
N.E. 418, 420, 188 Ind. 147.
[Comment: The
terms of a penalty statute are
indirect and mistakable terms. They are
indirect because they necessarily
involve another statute which specifies "persons required." They are mistakable because it is quite possible
for grand juries to make mistakes in their conclusions of law. If the statute is vague, then it is probable that grand juries will make
mistakes.]
A constitutional requirement that a
person accused of crime shall enjoy the
right to be "informed of the nature and cause of the accusation"
against him means, by a long line of precedents, resting on principle, that in
a prosecution for the commission of a statutory offense the words of the
statute, or others of fully equivalent import, should be employed. State v. Judge of Criminal Dist. Ct. for
Parish of Orleans, 21 So. 690, 691, 49 La.Ann. 231.
[Comment: The words of the statute which made
DEFENDANT a "person required" were not expressed either by the
indictment, nor by the Court when challenged to express them.]
Constitutional
provision requiring indictment to inform accused of "nature and cause of
accusation" means that indictment
to be valid must at least fully and plainly identify the offense, so that
defendant may defend properly and later plead a conviction or acquittal in bar
of a subsequent charge for the same offense, and so that court may
pronounce sentence on conviction according to the right of the case. Const. art. 1, section 10, State v.
Domanski, R.I., 190 A. 854, 857.
[Comment: Indictment did not fully identify the offense.
DEFENDANT could not defend
properly. DEFENDANT was unable to
enter a plea; the presiding judge
entered it for him and later instructed the jury that the DEFENDANT had entered
a plea of "not guilty."]
[following quotations from Large v. State]:
1. Indictment and Information: 71 -- Defendant is entitled to have offense
charged in direct and unmistakable terms;
"nature and cause of accusation" (Const. art. 1, section 13).
Under Const.
art. 1, section 13, entitling defendant to demand "nature and cause of
accusation," against him and to have copy thereof, defendant is entitled to
have gist of offense charged in direct
and unmistakable terms.
It is the
constitutional right of the defendant to demand the nature and cause of the
accusation against him and to have a copy thereof. Article 1, section 13, Constitution of Indiana, McLaughlin v.
State, 45 Ind. 388.
[1] In Hinshaw v. State, 188 Ind. 147,
122 N.E. 418, it is said the words
"nature and cause of the accusation" have a well-defined meaning
and had such a meaning at the time of the adoption of the Constitution. That meaning is that the gist of an offense
shall be charged in direct and mistakable terms. In passing upon the same provision of the Federal Constitution in
United States v. Cruikshank (1875) 92 U.S. 542, 557 (23 L.Ed. 588), the
court said: "In criminal cases, prosecuted under the laws of the United States, the
accused has the constitutional right 'to be informed of the nature and cause of
the accusation.' Amend. VI. In United States v. Mills, 7 Pet. 142
[8 L.Ed. 636], this was construed to mean that the indictment must set forth the offense 'with clearness and all
necessary certainty, to apprise the accused of the crime with which he stands
charged.' And in United States
v. Cook, 17 Wall 174 [21 L.Ed. 538], that 'every ingredient of which the offense is composed must be accurately
and clearly alleged.' It is an
elementary principle of criminal pleading, that where the definition of an
offense, whether it be at common law or by Statute, 'includes generic terms, it
is not sufficient that the indictment shall charge the offense in the same
generic terms as in the definition; but
it must state the species; it must descend to the particulars.'"
In Mayhew v. State, 189 Ind. 545, 128 N.E. 599,
it is said: "The particular crime
with which the accused is charged must be preferred [sic] with such reasonable certainty by the essential
averments in the pleading as will enable
the court and jury to distinctly understand what is to be tried and determined,
and fully inform the defendant of the particular charge he is to meet. The averments must be so clear and distinct
that there may be no difficulty in determining what evidence is admissible
thereunder." [numerous citations
follow]
Section 2225,
Burns' 1926 (section 2063, Burns' 1914) clause 10, provides that no indictment or affidavit shall be deemed
invalid, nor shall the same be set aside or quashed, nor shall the crime
charged or other proceedings be stayed or arrested or in any manner affected
for any of the following:
"*
* * For any * *
* defect or imperfection which
does not tend to the prejudice of the substantial rights of the defendant upon
the merits."
[Large v. State, 164 N.E. 263,
264]
[Comment: DEFENDANT's indictment tended to prejudice his
substantial 6th Amendment right to know the "nature and cause of the
accusation." It did not descend to
the particulars; the presiding judge denied his motion for a Bill of
Particulars.]
[following quotations from Hinshaw v. State]:
7. Indictment and Information: 56 -- Constitutional Law -- Pleading
Acts 1915, c.
62, relating to the sufficiency of criminal or civil pleading, is void so far
as it applies to indictments, because Const. Bill of Rights, art. 1, section
13, provides that an accused shall have the right to demand the nature and cause
of the accusation against him.
8. Indictment and Information: 70 -- "Nature and Cause of
Accusation."
The words
"nature and cause of the accusation" in Const. Bill of Rights, art.
1, section 13, providing that an accused shall have the right to demand the
nature and cause of the accusation against him, mean that the gist of an offense shall be charged in direct and unmistakable
terms.
This act
(chapter 62 of the Acts of 1915, p. 123) is void, so far as it applies to
indictments, because section 13 of article 1 of the Bill of Rights of the state
Constitution provides that "the accused shall have the right to demand the
nature and cause of the accusation against him and to have a copy
thereof." The words "nature
and cause of the accusation" have a well-defined meaning, and had such
meaning at the time of the adoption of the Constitution. That meaning is, that the gist of an offense shall be charged in direct and unmistakable
terms. In passing upon the same
provision of the federal Constitution in United States v. Cruikshank, 92
U.S. 542, 557 (23 L.Ed. 588), the court says:
"In criminal cases, prosecuted under the laws of the United States,
the accused has the constitutional right 'to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation.' Amend. VI. In United States v. Mills, 7 Pet. 142
[8 L.Ed. 636], this was construed to mean that the indictment must set forth the offense 'with clearness and all
necessary certainty, to apprise the accused of the crime with which he stands
charged'; and in United States
v. Cook, 17 Wall. 174 [21 L.Ed. 538], that 'every ingredient of which the offense is composed must be accurately
and clearly alleged.' It is an
elementary principle of criminal pleading, that where the definition of an
offense, whether it be at common law or by statute, 'includes generic terms, it is not sufficient that the indictment
shall charge the offense in the same generic terms as in the definition; but it must state the species -- it must
descend to the particulars.'"
[Hinshaw v. State, 122 N.E.
418, 420, emphasis added]
[following quotations from State v. Judge of Criminal
Dist. Ct. for Parish of Orleans]:
1. Every party charged with crime has the
constitutional right to have subjected to judicial investigation and testing
the fact whether or not any particular charge made against him has come up to the standard of legal requirement or
not ....
That to the
best of his knowledge and belief the criminal district court is absolutely without
jurisdiction to try said cause by reason of there being no legal information pending against him in said court. That he verily believes (1) that, if the
judge of said court be not prohibited from proceeding further in this cause, he
will force relator to trial, and impose a sentence upon him (if convicted) in a
case wherein there is no appeal, and will
forever deprive relator of his constitutional right to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation against him before trial, and will thereby
cause relator irreparable injury. ...
[Comment: Going
to jail when you're innocent, as proven by a conviction that is overturned for
violating the 6th Amendment, is an irreparable injury.]
We should
have to be convinced that the objections to the information were such as in
point of fact would leave an accused in
ignorance of the nature and cause of the accusation against him. The objections should not be such as the
party making them could only hope to succeed upon by the application of the most stringent technical rules as to form
and as to pleading -- such defects as, in our opinion, would really work no
injury.
[State v. Judge of Criminal Dist.
Ct. for Parish of Orleans]
[21 So. 690, 691, 49 La.Ann. 231]
[Comment: The IRC section which made DEFENDANT a
"person required" is not a
stringent technical rule as to form and as to pleading. DEFENDANT remained in ignorance of this IRC section throughout the trial and
throughout all pre-trial hearings.]
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Reader’s Notes: