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Show U WESTER;-- ! AMERICANA FORD VERSUS REAGAN WHERE DO THEY STAND PAGE 6 tn The wmm ( i Independent Dedicated To The Constitution, Liberty, Morality, and Truth Vol. 7, No. 15 25C Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 April 8, 1976 Stuns I.R.S. civil, grand jury, or legislative Just slightly over one week ago the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in the Gamer vs United States case that may very well prove to be a landmark decision as applied to income tax cases. In the original case appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals a gambler named Roy Garner was convicted of conspiring to violate various federal gambling statutes. The gist of the governments evidence was that Lawler and Swank were making elaborate bets on selected horses using information supplied by Gamer. Near the end of the case the government introduced into evidence, over defendants objection, Garners Federal Income Tax returns (Forms 1040) for 1965, 196-- 6, 1967 which indicated that Gamer derived almost all of his income from gambling or wagering. Garner argues that the introduction of his tax returns into case evidence in this non-ta- x violates his privilege against self-- This case has been so recently decided that its text and major points will probably be unavailable to accountants and tax attorneys before filing deadline of Thus copies are being made available from the Utah Independent and will be airmailed C.O.D. in response to telephone orders (801) 4661913) or airmailed upon receipt of $2.00 money order or cashiers check made out to the Utah Independent. . For those utilizing this decision in filing 1975 returns a copy of this Garner case should accompany their returns. (3-23-- 76. incrimination; and this argument alone sparks the appeals first to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and thence to the arbiter of last resort, the US. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Fortunately or unfortunately, both of these tribunals ruled against Gamer, but the attendant discussions of the limits, boundaries, nature and. history of this all important privilege against are what are profitably discussed here. Originally (until 1892) the interpretation of that portion of the 5th Amendment relating to would permit a construction which limited its availability to a defendants oral testimony as a sworn witness in a criminal proceeding Error Or Are They Trying To Shape Public Opinion? UTAH IMDEPERIDEm1 ' Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 Cdtlria Oar. Iltsh i ' r : 'j i oo . : ; 4 '. ) 3 u. o - - :r H - .1 as s M ,J fl W i cJ U I J 3 r: to syndicated pollsters George Gallup and Louis failed to show the publics true attitudes on issue of gun control? The answer is a resounding YES! This is according to a nationwide public opinion poll conducted recently by the highly respetfed survey research firm of Decision Making Information of Santa Ana, California. Those seeking the enactment of additional gun controls frequently cite public opinion polls claiming to show the publics support for such measures. For years defenders of the risht to keep and bear arms have struggled against what they know are biased or, at best, simplistic and imperfect measures of public attitudes on very complex issues. Have Made An Honest . The underlying principle of survey research is that through determining the opinions of a small but scientifically selected representative sample of the nations entire population one can, by inference, determine those for the entire population. While polls can' accurately measure public attitudes on various issues the ability to do so depends upon a number of critical factors. 1) The sample must be randomly selected to insure that all members of the total population have an equal chance to be selected. 2) Approximately 1500 persons must be surveyed in a nation-wid- e poll, and the sample must be demograph-icall- y representative. 3) One or two questions can not possibly measure ones attitudes on such a complex subject as gun control. It must be done in depth. 4) It should be done face to face in the home of the person surveyed. Telephone surveys are generally considered less reliable. 5) The nature of the questions asked is critical so as not to predetermine the outcome of the poll. The person being interviewed must not be forced to choose from response options which do not permit accurate measures of his opinions. 6) questions must be included to insure the consistency of responses. 7) Most important, the poll must measure attitudes on the issue sought to be measured. If the issue is crime control, the poll. must measure that and not draw inferences from questions about guns. What makes findings from the survey conducted by DM I more acceptable than those conducted by other pollsters? Cross-checki- ng proceedings. The scope, however, of the defendants privilege is greater than that he would enjoy if he were only a witness at someone elses trial. Not only may a defendant refuse to answer questions but he can even refuse to be called as a witness at his own trial. A witness, on the other hand, is not immune from inquiries though he may claim privilege under the 5th Amendment and decline to answer. When Gamer disclosed his income in his tax returns he was a witness and not a defendant, and the question upon which his case turns is whether he should have excercised his privilege on his tax returns or could he have waited until his subsequent conspiracy trial. The 9th Circuit Court ruled in a narrow 6 to 5 decision that Gamer clearly had to have asserted his privilege on his tax return before the information is out lest we embark on uncharted seas where any defendant can pick and speak. The Supreme Court affirmed the 9th Courts decision with the accompanying discussion of 5th Amendment against privilege on. In United States v. Sullivan decided in 1927 the court held that the privilege against compulsory is not a defense to prosecution for failing to file a return at all, but they did say: If the form of return provided called for answers that the defendant was privileged from making he could have raised the objection in the return , but could not on that account refuse to make any return at all." Had Gamer invoked his constitutional right against and not listed his income on the 1040 forms the I.R.S. may have proceeded against him in either or both of two ways: (I) Continued on page 10 Richard Corrigan Have The Pollsters Ptidat already underway. However, in 1892 in Coulselman v. Hitchcock (142 US 547) the Supreme Court rejected so narrow an interpretation so that now the privilege is available to a potential criminal defendant well before proceedings actually begin as well as to a witness in criminal, (Sail IM1 57 Oakland Avenue 76) choose which evidence he will allow the prosecution to introduce at his trial by using the 5th Amendment retroactively so to The DM1 study is the only complete, indepth, unbiased survey meeting the above criteria known to have been taken on the subject of gun control. The DMI survey was conducted in the homes of 1538 registered voters within the continental United States (Alaska and Hawaii were riot included). Responses were gathered between September 29 and October 8, 1975. All respondents interviewed were randomly selected. Their demographic characteristics matched those of the United States ' national population. - Representatives of DMI have suggested that anyofie doubting their findings should repeat this poll using the survey techniques and questions which are. completely. described in the published findings. The information presented here represents a summary of those findings. This poll began with open-ende- d questions seeking to determine which issues were important to the public. Only later did it probe more deeply and speciiically into the issues of crime control and gun control. Crime Is Not High On Piffle Agenda - Crime was believed to be the most important national problem by 13 of respondents. - Crime was believed to be the most important local problem by 18 of respondents. - Gun control was cited as the most iiriportant problem by less than 1 of those surveyed. The Piffle Clearly Perceives That Gun Control Is Not Crime Control By A Wide Margin responses) : (Suggested steps to reduce crime un-aid- ed It is further enlightening to note that just one percent volunteered registration of firearms and only one- Sahalf of one percent suggested a ban on wo most of the frequently, adturday Night Specials-tvocated gun control proposals. The Public Gives Congress Low Marks On Crime Control - Only 1 rates Congress excellent. - Significantly 86 rate our federal lawmakers as just fair or poor. Those Who Advocate Restricting The Private Ownership And Use Of Firearms Frequently Insist That There Are No Indi- Continued on page 6 - so-call- ed |