Edwards v. United States, 312 U.S. 473 (1941)
Edwards v. United States
No. 377
Argued February 12, 1941
Decided March 3, 1941
312 U.S. 473
CERTIORARI TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
1. To an indictment under the Securities and Mail Fraud Acts, and for conspiracy, based upon sales of securities issued by organizations alleged to have been created by the defendant as part of a fraudulent scheme, a plea in bar claiming immunity under the Securities Act sufficiently shows the incriminating character of the evidence produced under subpoena of the Securities and Exchange Commission by alleging that it concerned the identity of the accused and his relationship to the organizations "which are the subject matter of this prosecution" and concerned his personal entries, books, and records "which are a part of the subject matter of this prosecution." P. 479.
2. The overruling of a plea in bar claiming immunity under the Securities Act because of testimony given before the Securities and Exchange Commission cannot be justified upon the ground that the defendant failed to prove its allegations where the plea was accompanied by a motion for the production of the transcript of the testimony and both plea and motion showed that application for such transcript had been refused by the Commission. P. 480.
It rested in the discretion of the trial court in this case to issue an order to show cause why the complete transcript should not be produced, if it deemed all of it necessary, or only so much of it as would fairly make it appear whether the testimony of the accused before the Commission was a proper foundation for the amnesty claimed.
3. Error of a trial court in overruling a plea of immunity under the Securities Act without ordering production of a transcript of testimony delivered by the defendant before the Securities and Exchange Commission, was not cured by an offer of the Government to produce the transcript at the trial, which the court declined, or by its subsequent production by the Government in the Circuit Court of Appeals. P. 481.
4. An appeal in a criminal case is to be heard on the record certified to the Circuit Court of Appeals. Criminal Appeals Rules VIII and IX. P. 482.
5. An objection to an indictment because, in its endorsement as a true bill, the foreman of the grand jury described himself as "Foreman," instead of "Foreman of the Grand Jury," held frivolous. P. 482.
6. A count charging sale of unregistered securities in violation of the Securities Act need not allege that they were not of the class exempted from registration by § 3 of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder. P. 482.
7. The indictment in this case sufficiently showed the materiality of facts withheld from purchasers of the securities in violation of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C. 77q(a)(2). P. 483.
113 F.2d 286 reversed.
Certiorari, 311 U.S. 632, to review a judgment affirming a sentence which was entered on a plea of nolo contendere after a demurrer and a plea in bar had been overruled.