United States v. Auto Workers, 352 U.S. 567 (1957)
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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.
United States v. Auto Workers, 352 U.S. 567 (1957)
United States v. Auto Workers No. 44 Argued December 3-4, 1956 Decided March 11, 1957 352 U.S. 567
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
Syllabus
18 U.S.C. § 610 prohibits any corporation or labor organization from making "a contribution or expenditure in connection with" any election for federal office. An indictment of appellee, a labor organization, under this section charged appellee with having used union dues to sponsor commercial television broadcasts designed to influence the electorate to select certain candidates for Congress in connection with the 1954 elections. The District Court dismissed the indictment as not alleging a statutory offense. On appeal to this Court under the Criminal Appeals Act, held: the judgment of dismissal is reversed. Pp. 568-593.
(a) On review under the Criminal Appeals Act of a district court judgment dismissing an indictment on the basis of statutory interpretation, this Court must take the indictment as it was construed by the district judge. P. 584.
(b) It was to embrace precisely the kind of indirect contributions alleged in the indictment that Congress amended the section to proscribe "expenditures." P. 585.
(c) The Senate and House committee reports and the Senate debate support the conclusion that the section was understood to proscribe the expenditure of union dues to pay for commercial broadcasts that are designed to urge the public to elect a certain candidate or party. Pp. 585-587.
(d) United State v. CIO, 335 U.S. 106, distinguished. Pp. 588-589.
(e) In the circumstances of this case, the Court does not pass upon the constitutional issues. Pp. 589-593.
138 F.Supp. 53 reversed and remanded.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," United States v. Auto Workers, 352 U.S. 567 (1957) in 352 U.S. 567 352 U.S. 568. Original Sources, accessed November 25, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=QAZDFF6XI77YMQ2.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." United States v. Auto Workers, 352 U.S. 567 (1957), in 352 U.S. 567, page 352 U.S. 568. Original Sources. 25 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=QAZDFF6XI77YMQ2.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in United States v. Auto Workers, 352 U.S. 567 (1957). cited in 1957, 352 U.S. 567, pp.352 U.S. 568. Original Sources, retrieved 25 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=QAZDFF6XI77YMQ2.
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