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Offutt v. United States, 348 U.S. 11 (1954)
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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.
Offutt v. United States, 348 U.S. 11 (1954)
Offutt v. United States No. 27 Argued October 22, 1954 Decided November 8, 1954 348 U.S. 11
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
Syllabus
In a criminal trial in a Federal District Court, the judge became personally embroiled with the defense counsel in a protracted wrangle, during which the judge displayed personal animosity and a lack of proper judicial restraint. At the close of the trial, acting under Rule 42 (a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the judge summarily found the defense counsel guilty of criminal contempt for "contumacious and unethical conduct . . . during the trial," and ordered him committed for ten days. The Court of Appeals, while agreeing that counsel was guilty of reprehensible misconduct, found that "appellant’s conduct cannot fairly be considered apart from that of the trial judge," and reduced the punishment to 48 hours in affirming the conviction.
Held: in the exercise of this Court’s supervisory authority over the administration of criminal justice in the federal courts, the contempt conviction is set aside and the cause is remanded to the District Court with a direction that the contempt charges be retried before a different judge. Cooke v. United States, 267 U.S. 517. Pp. 11-18.
93 U.S.App.D.C. 148, 208 F. 2d 842, reversed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Offutt v. United States, 348 U.S. 11 (1954) in 348 U.S. 11 Original Sources, accessed November 22, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=JB6AXGF1XZKKTBC.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Offutt v. United States, 348 U.S. 11 (1954), in 348 U.S. 11, Original Sources. 22 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=JB6AXGF1XZKKTBC.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Offutt v. United States, 348 U.S. 11 (1954). cited in 1954, 348 U.S. 11. Original Sources, retrieved 22 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=JB6AXGF1XZKKTBC.
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