Christoffel v. United States (338 U.S. 84)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 27, 1949 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 338 U.S. 84 · 69 S. Ct. 1447
- Docket
- No. 528
- Argued
- April 20, 1949
- Decided
- June 27, 1949
- Term
- October Term 1948
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Murphy
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Justice Douglas, Justice Frankfurter, Justice Black, Justice Rutledge, Justice Murphy (wrote)
- Dissenting
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Burton, Justice R. H. Jackson (wrote), Justice Reed
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Murphy delivered the opinion of the Court. In March of 1947, the Committee on Education and Labor was, as it is now, a standing committee of the House of Representatives. During the first session of the 80th Congress it held frequent hearings on proposed amendments to the National Labor Relations Act. On March 1, 1947, petitioner appeared as a witness before the committee, under oath, and in the course of the proceedings was asked a series of questions directed to his political affiliations and associations. In his answers he unequivocally denied that he was a Communist or that he endorsed, supported or participated in Communist programs. As a result of these answers he was indicted for perjury under § 22-2501 of the District of Columbia Code, and after a trial by jury was convicted. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, 84 U. S. App. D. C. 132, 171 F. 2d 1004, and we granted certiorari to review its validity. 336 U. S. 934. No question is raised as to the relevancy or propriety of the questions asked. Petitioner’s main contention is that the committee was not a “competent tribunal” within the meaning of the statute, in that a quorum of the committee was not present at the time of the incident on which the indictment was based. As to this, the record reveals the following: the Committee on Education and Labor consists of twenty-five members, of whom…
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