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United States v. Hood, 343 U.S. 148 (1952)
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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. Hood, 343 U.S. 148 (1952)
United States v. Hood No. 426 Argued March 4, 1952 Decided March 31, 1952 343 U.S. 148
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
Syllabus
Appellees were indicted for violating 18 U.S.C. § 215, which makes it a misdemeanor for anyone to solicit or receive contributions in consideration of the promise of support or use of influence in obtaining for any person "any appointive office or place under the United States." The trial court dismissed certain counts of the indictment which alleged the solicitation of contributions in return for promises to use influence to obtain offices which were not in existence at the time of the solicitation or the return of the indictment, but which the President had been authorized to create under the Defense Production Act of 1950.
Held: these counts should not have been dismissed. Pp. 149-152.
(a) Section 215 is broad enough to cover the sale of influence in connection with an office which had been authorized by law and which, at the time of the sale, might reasonably be expected to be established. Pp. 150-151.
(b) The doctrine that criminal statutes are to be strictly construed does not mean that they must be construed by some artificial and conventional rule; nor should there be read out of such statutes what, as a matter of ordinary English speech, is in them. P. 151.
(c) The construction here given 18 U.S.C. § 215 does not offend the requirement of definiteness. Pp. 151-152.
Reversed.
In a prosecution of the appellees for violation of 18 U.S.C. § 215 and conspiracy, the District Court dismissed some counts of the indictment. The Government appealed directly to this Court under the Criminal Appeals Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3731. Reversed and remanded, p. 152.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," United States v. Hood, 343 U.S. 148 (1952) in 343 U.S. 148 343 U.S. 149. Original Sources, accessed November 25, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=QEF2WK2SRCBXHVT.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." United States v. Hood, 343 U.S. 148 (1952), in 343 U.S. 148, page 343 U.S. 149. Original Sources. 25 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=QEF2WK2SRCBXHVT.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in United States v. Hood, 343 U.S. 148 (1952). cited in 1952, 343 U.S. 148, pp.343 U.S. 149. Original Sources, retrieved 25 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=QEF2WK2SRCBXHVT.
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