United States v. Holohan
United States v. Holohan
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
The defendant was indicted on April 24, 1973, and charged in two counts: (1) failure to report for an Armed Forces physical examination from June 19, 1972 to April 24, 1973;
He moves to dismiss the indictment upon two grounds: (1) that the United States Attorney abused his discretion and denied the defendant due process by failure to comply with the policy of the Attorney General with respect to the dismissal of indictments against those who remove their delinquency by submitting to induction processing; and (2) that the Local Board denied him due process in classifying him without considering a pending criminal charge against him.
Following the defendant’s indictment, his attorney conferred with the Assist
As to his first contention, the defendant relies upon a policy of the De- ■ partment of Justice articulated in guidelines set forth in the United States Attorney’s Bulletin
“It has been and continues to be the Department’s policy to allow a defendant, in the absence of aggravating circumstances, to remove his delinquency under the Military Selective Service Act by submitting to induction processing and to authorize a dismissal of his indictment upon successful completion of induction. ... In the event the defendant is rejected on the basis of a physical, mental or psychiatric defect or on moral grounds, which preexisted his violation, authorization to dismiss will be granted. However, if the basis for rejection occurred after the violation, and the disqualifying physical defect was self-inflicted, self-induced or occurred as a result of the defendant’s own fault, authorization to dismiss will not be granted.”
The defendant was found medically disqualified upon the examining doctor’s conclusion that “[h]is adjustment was never up to par.” The defendant contends that under the policy set forth above such rejection requires dismissal of the indictment
An Attorney General is empowered to issue a directive to United States Attorneys to dismiss indictments under certain circumstances, and they are bound to abide by such a directive.
Indeed, the letter from the Assistant Attorney General dated April 20, 1973, in answer to a contention similar to that advanced here, specifically states that the principles set forth in the memo “are intended only as general guidelines to be applied by United States Attorneys on an ad hoc basis,” and that a United States Attorney must weigh all the facts of each case “in exercising his judgment and discretion whether to dismiss an indictment.”
In the instant case consent to the induction process and dismissal of the indictment was conditioned upon the defendant’s acceptance into the Army, failing which the defendant was given the alternative of satisfactory compliance with the TASC program or, if that failed, of a trial. He is entitled to a trial; not to a dismissal of the indictment.
The defendant next contends he was denied due process of law when he was classified 1-A by his Board without its considering the fact that he was facing a criminal charge. The defendant’s initial classification questionnaire submitted to the Board on March 21, 1971 set forth that he was “now being detained in custody of a court of criminal jurisdiction, on parole awaiting trial.” He contends that the Board, in deciding his classification, was under a duty to consider all information pertinent thereto;
In sum, odd as it may appear, the defendant argues that the fact he was under a criminal charge, the nature of which was not specified, required the Board, even though he was found otherwise qualified for 1-A classification, to consider him for a 1-Y or 4-F classification. Upon its face this statement requires its rejection. The defendant’s attempt to equate his position to that of registrants such as ministers, students, conscientious objectors, the physically disabled, hardship cases, and others who are entitled to consideration for deferred status based upon standards contained in either the Selective Service law or the regulations thereunder is patently
The above disposition makes it unnecessary to pass upon the government’s contention that in any event the determination of moral fitness is to be made by the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station (AFEES) and not by the Local Board.
The motion to dismiss the indictment upon the stated grounds is denied.
. 50 U.S.C. App. § 462(a) ; 32 C.F.R. § 1628.16.
. 50 U.S.C. App. I 462(a) ; 32 C.F.R. § 1632.14.
. Vol. 17, No. 26, p. 679 (Oct. 3, 1969).
. The examining doctor’s report, in addition to referring to defendant’s use of heroin over a 4-year period, refers to a criminal conviction and other anti-social activities. Whether or not the totality of this conduct .constitutes “aggravating circumstances” within the meaning of the policy as set forth above need not be considered in view of the disposition made herein.
. See 28 U.S.C. § 519.
. In none of the cases cited by the defendant did a court dismiss an indictment for failure to follow the policy. In United States v. Battaglia, 410 F.2d 279 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 848, 90 S.Ct. 73, 24 L.Ed.2d 97 (1969) ; United States v. Hill, 369 F. Supp. 218 (E.D.N.Y.), aff’d, 497 F.2d 919 (2d Cir. 1974) ; and United States v. Lewis, 302 F.Supp. 510 (E.D.Wisc. 1969), the defendant did not fall within the group protected by the policy for one reason or another. In United States v. Lazarus, 6 Sel. Serv.L.Rptr. 3406 (W.D.Pa. 1973), the court did note that the prosecutor had refused to dismiss the indictment although there were grounds to do so under the policy, but it dismissed the indictment on the ground that there had been prejudicial delay in presenting the charge against the defendant to the grand jury.
. 32 C.F.R. § 1622.1(c), redesignated § 1622.1(a), 36 Fed.Reg. 23376 (Dec. 9, 1971).
. 17 C.F.R. § 1622.17, revoked, 36 Fed.Reg. 23376 (Dec. 9,1971).
. 32 C.F.R. § 1622.44(a), amended, 36 Fed. Reg. 23376 (Dee. 9,1971).
. 72 Cr. 496 (S.D.N.Y.), aff’d, 485 F.2d 677 S.Ct. 1932, 40 L.Ed.2d 285 (1974) (2d Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 935, 94
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Edward HOLOHAN
- Status
- Published