Greene v. United States, 358 U.S. 326 (1959)
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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.
Greene v. United States, 358 U.S. 326 (1959)
Greene v. United States No. 134 Argued January 13, 1959 Decided January 26, 1959 358 U.S. 326
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATE COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Petitioner was convicted in a Federal District Court on each of 15 counts of an indictment for violations of the narcotic laws, and was sentenced to consecutive sentences of 20 months to 5 years on each of Counts 2, 4, and 7, and to sentences of 20 months to 5 years on each of the other 12 counts, to run concurrently with each other and "with the sentence imposed on Counts Two, Four and Seven." On petitioner’s appeal challenging the validity of his conviction and sentence on each count, the Court of Appeals held that
The record supports at least 5 of the sentences that were to run "concurrently with" the 3 consecutive sentences. It therefore supports the aggregate sentence. We need not decide whether it supports the "consecutive" sentences themselves,
and it affirmed.
Held: the Court of Appeals should have passed upon the validity of the consecutive sentences. Pp. 327-330.
(a) The 15 sentences here involved may not be treated as one "gross sentence" to imprisonment for a period of 5 to 15 years, because the recorded judgment explicitly imposed a separate sentence of from 20 months to the then permissible maximum of 5 years on each of the 15 counts. Pp. 328-329.
(b) Because of the way the judgment is worded, imprisonment for an aggregate period of 5 to 15 years can be sustained in this case only if each of the consecutive sentences on Counts 2, 4, and 7 is valid. Pp. 329-330.
100 U.S.App.D.C. 396, 246 F. 2d 677, judgment vacated and cause remanded for further proceedings.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Greene v. United States, 358 U.S. 326 (1959) in 358 U.S. 326 358 U.S. 327. Original Sources, accessed November 22, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=HEN3CRGDYSX72WU.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Greene v. United States, 358 U.S. 326 (1959), in 358 U.S. 326, page 358 U.S. 327. Original Sources. 22 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=HEN3CRGDYSX72WU.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Greene v. United States, 358 U.S. 326 (1959). cited in 1959, 358 U.S. 326, pp.358 U.S. 327. Original Sources, retrieved 22 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=HEN3CRGDYSX72WU.
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