First TP prosecution?

[Demosthenes]

Fond memories of Judge Munson abound
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
By Jim O'Hara
Staff writer

U.S. District Judge Howard Munson died Sunday, just five months after retiring from the federal bench where he served more than 32 years.

Lawyers and judges across the community united Tuesday in remembering Munson's career and in mourning his death. He was 84.

Chief Judge Norman A. Mordue and court clerk Larry Baerman both recalled Munson as a man who loved his job and was good at it. He also was remembered for his remarkable memory and his fairness in presiding from the bench where he served since 1976.

Munson served as chief judge for the Northern District of New York from 1980 to 1988 and continued on the bench in senior status from 1990 until earlier this year.

Munson retired for health reasons, but he held out hope he would return, Mordue said.

According to Mordue and Baerman, Munson presided over numerous groundbreaking cases, including the first tax protester case prosecuted in the United States; a case involving the hostile takeover of the Carrier Corp. by United Technologies Corp.; the computer hacking prosecution of a Cornell University graduate student who crippled the nation's computer network; a case in which the Hare Krishna sect was banned from soliciting at airports; the first round of a prosecution of Hell's Angels; the prosecution of an FBI informant on charges of lying to federal officials; and the prosecution of people from around the country on pornography charges.

Obituary Page B-4

Munson also ruled that the overcrowded jail in the Public Safety Building was in such bad shape that it was unconstitutional. That ruling resulted in the construction of the Onondaga County Justice Center jail.

Mordue said the flag at the federal building in downtown Syracuse will fly at half-staff through Friday in honor of Munson.

"I think it would be difficult to find anybody who would say anything negative about Judge Munson," said state Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti, who practiced before Munson as both a prosecutor and defense lawyer in federal court.

"He was great, he was the best," county Judge William Walsh said as he remembered some of his experiences as a defense lawyer in federal court before Munson. "He had a remarkable memory. He paid attention and he didn't ever need a read back of testimony from the court reporter because he remembered it verbatim."

County Judge Joseph Fahey, who also practiced as a defense lawyer before Munson, recalled the judge's deep voice.

"He had a voice like God," Fahey said. "You swore if you heard him speak that it was the Almighty talking."

Fahey said Munson was good to young lawyers.

He said Munson assigned him his first federal case.

He survived the experience and ended up being paid $7,000 which enabled him to pay off his student loan, Fahey recalled.

[Famspear]

It would be interesting for historical reasons to have a citation to that tax protester case mentioned in the article.

[Demosthenes]

I agree, but I'm not sure the claim is accurate. There were tp prosecutions predating 1976.

[Famspear]

I agree, but I'm not sure the claim is accurate. There were tp prosecutions predating 1976.

Yeah, and I guess I'm forgetting what I myself have already written on the subject - in "another forum":

Another early protester was Arthur J. Porth, who argued that the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution should itself be declared unconstitutional, under his theory that the income taxes under the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 imposed "involuntary servitude" in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment. That argument was ruled to be without merit in Porth v. Brodrick, United States Collector of Internal Revenue for the State of Kansas''. 214 F.2d 925, 54-2 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 9552 (10th Cir. 1954). He continued his tax protester activities and was eventually convicted of willful failure to file returns and other tax crimes; see United States v. Porth. 426 F.2d 519, 70-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 9329 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 824 (1970).

(bolding added).

from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_history

[The Operative]

I agree that the claim is probably inaccurate. Maybe he was the first jurist to refer to a person as a tax protester in his opinion?

[The Observer]

I agree, but I'm not sure the claim is accurate. There were tp prosecutions predating 1976.

I agree but I can't remember who. I know Gordon Kahl was convicted in 1976 and I thought Arthur Porth was convicted prior to that, but I don't have that information at my fingertips.

EDIT: Famspear got in first with Porth's name, but I don't like relying on Wiki. Famspear, are those case citations for his criminal conviction? Or his civil trial loss?

[Famspear]

I think the Porth conviction was around 1966.

[Famspear]

This one is the appeal of his criminal conviction:

426 F.2d 519, 70-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 9329 (10th Cir. 1970).

The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the judgment of conviction.

Porth was convicted on five counts under 26 USC 7202 and 7203. The exact date is unclear, but the convictions may have come in 1966 or 1967.

[Demosthenes]

Porth was convicted in 1967.

Prior to that, there was always Vivien Kellems.

[Famspear]

Porth was convicted in 1967.

Prior to that, there was always Vivian Kellems.

But she was never specifically charged with or convicted of anything, was she?

EDIT: Here's something on her:

http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/26413.html

She apparently spelled her first name as "Vivien".

[Demosthenes]

She apparently spelled her first name as "Vivien".

I was correcting my spelling error as you were typing that.

[Demosthenes]

But she was never specifically charged with or convicted of anything, was she?

Quite right. Her jury trial in 1951 was a civil case.

She did pull a Larken Rose style "Please prosecute me" stunt in 1948 though.

[Lambkin]

According to Mordue and Baerman, Munson presided over numerous groundbreaking cases... the computer hacking prosecution of a Cornell University graduate student who crippled the nation's computer network

The real interesting bit... apparently this was the Morris Worm. :-)