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Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660 (1962)
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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.
Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660 (1962)
Robinson v. California No. 554 Argued April 17, 1962 Decided June 25, 1962 370 U.S. 660
APPEAL FROM THE APPELLATE DEPARTMENT, SUPERIOR COURT
OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY
Syllabus
A California statute makes it a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for any person to "be addicted to the use of narcotics," and, in sustaining petitioner’s conviction thereunder, the California courts construed the statute as making the "status" of narcotic addiction a criminal offense for which the offender may be prosecuted "at any time before he reforms," even though he has never used or possessed any narcotics within the State and has not been guilty of any antisocial behavior there.
Held: As so construed and applied, the statute inflicts a cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Pp. 660-668.
Reversed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660 (1962) in 370 U.S. 660 Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=X9KJQEYZ2M2B49W.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660 (1962), in 370 U.S. 660, Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=X9KJQEYZ2M2B49W.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660 (1962). cited in 1962, 370 U.S. 660. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=X9KJQEYZ2M2B49W.
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