Meadows v. United States

EUGENE A. WRIGHT, Circuit Judge.

The question before us is whether the Supreme Court’s decision in Haynes v. United States, 390 U.S. 85, 88 S.Ct. 722, 19 L.Ed.2d 923 (1968) is to be applied retroactively. We hold that it is.

In Haynes, decided January 20, 1968, the Court held that a plea of the privilege against self-incrimination guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment was a complete defense to a prosecution under 26 U.S.C. § 5851 for possession of a firearm *797not registered pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 5841. Appellant Raymond Meadows was indicted December 15, 1965, in the Northern District of California…