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United States v. Bass, 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
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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. Bass, 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
United States v. Bass No. 70-71 Argued October 18, 1971 Decided December 20, 1971 404 U.S. 336
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Respondent was convicted of possessing firearms in violation of § 1202(a)(1) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, which provides that a person convicted of a felony "who receives, possesses, or transports in commerce or affecting commerce . . . any firearm . . ." shall be punished as prescribed therein. The indictment did not allege and no attempt was made to show that the firearms involved had been possessed "in commerce or affecting commerce," the Government contending that the statute does not require proof of a connection with interstate commerce in individual cases involving possession or receipt. Doubting its constitutionality if the statute were thus construed, the Court of Appeals reversed.
Held: It is not clear from the language and legislative history of § 1202(a)(1) whether or not receipt or possession of a firearm by a convicted felon has to be shown in an individual prosecution to have been connected with interstate commerce. The ambiguity of this provision (which is not only a criminal statute but one whose broad construction would define as a federal offense conduct readily proscribed by the States), must therefore be resolved in favor of the narrower reading that a nexus with interstate commerce must be shown with respect to all three offenses embraced by the provision. Pp. 339-351
434 F.2d 1296, affirmed.
MARSHALL, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which DOUGLAS, BRENNAN (except for Part III), STEWART, and WHITE, JJ., joined. BRENNAN, J., filed a separate statement, post, p. 351. BLACKMUN, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BURGER, C.J., joined, post, p. 351.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," United States v. Bass, 404 U.S. 336 (1971) in 404 U.S. 336 404 U.S. 337. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WHCEUPJB7H42N6Z.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." United States v. Bass, 404 U.S. 336 (1971), in 404 U.S. 336, page 404 U.S. 337. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WHCEUPJB7H42N6Z.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in United States v. Bass, 404 U.S. 336 (1971). cited in 1971, 404 U.S. 336, pp.404 U.S. 337. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WHCEUPJB7H42N6Z.
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