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Colombo v. New York, 405 U.S. 9 (1972)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Colombo v. New York, 405 U.S. 9 (1972)
Colombo v. New York No. 71-352 Decided February 22, 1972 405 U.S. 9
CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NEW YORK
Syllabus
Petitioner refused to answer a grand jury’s questions despite a grant of immunity. A trial judge found the questions to be proper and directed petitioner to answer. Petitioner refused, and the judge found that, by
his contumacious and unlawful refusal . . . to answer any legal and proper interrogatories and for his willful disobedience to the lawful mandate of this Court,
petitioner had "committed a criminal contempt of court" in violation of N.Y.Judiciary Law § 750. He was sentenced to 30 days and fined $250. His offer to testify thereafter was refused, and he paid his fine and served his sentence. Petitioner was then indicted under N.Y.Penal Law § 600 "for his contumacious and unlawful refusal . . . to answer legal and proper interrogatories." The trial court dismissed the indictment on double jeopardy grounds, but the appellate court reversed . The New York Court of Appeals, sustaining the reversal, held that there were two acts of contempt, one before the grand jury and the other the refusal to obey the court order, and that the trial judge had committed petitioner for civil, not criminal, contempt.
Held: Petitioner was penalized for criminal contempt for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause, and, in view of the state court’s misconception of the nature of the contempt judgment, and the substantial question of state law arising from the State’s response that it considers the two acts of contempt as being partially intertwined, the judgment is vacated and the case is remanded to the state court.
Certiorari granted; 29 N.Y.2d 1, 271 N.E.2d 694, vacated and remanded.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Colombo v. New York, 405 U.S. 9 (1972) in 405 U.S. 9 Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=GCW29VEJLN7DQHS.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Colombo v. New York, 405 U.S. 9 (1972), in 405 U.S. 9, Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=GCW29VEJLN7DQHS.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Colombo v. New York, 405 U.S. 9 (1972). cited in 1972, 405 U.S. 9. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=GCW29VEJLN7DQHS.
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