Costello v. United States

We granted certiorari in this case to consider a single question: “May a defendant be required to stand trial and a conviction be sustained where only hearsay evidence was presented to the grand jury which indicted him?” 350 U. S. 819.

Petitioner, Frank Costello, was indicted for wilfully attempting to evade payment of income taxes due the *360United States for the years 1947, 1948 and 1949.1 The charge was that petitioner falsely and fraudulently reported less income than he and his wife actually received during the taxable years in question. Petitioner promptly filed a motion for inspection of…