Hughes v. United States (342 U.S. 353)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided February 4, 1952 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 342 U.S. 353 · 72 S. Ct. 306
- Decided
- February 4, 1952
- Term
- October Term 1951
- Vote
- 7–0
- Majority author
- Justice Black
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Opinion of the Court by Mr. Justice Black,, announced by Mr. Justice Douglas. A three-judge District Court has construed certainsprovisións of a Sherman Act Consent decree as compelling the sale of certain moving picture stocks owned by the appellant Hughes. This clise is properly here on appeal from an order entered to compel the sale. 15 U. S. C. (Supp. IV). § 29. These anti-trust proceedings were originally brought by the United States against Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation and other moving picture producers, distributors, and exhibitors. From the District Court’s judgment in the case both the Government and defendants appealed. We affirmed in part and reversed in part. United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., 334 U. S. 131. We remanded jbhe cáse to the District Court leaving it free to consider whether it was necessary to require the production and distribution companies to divest themselves of all ownership and interest in the business of exhibiting pictures. Thereafter a consent decree was. entered containing detailed provisions for complete divorcement of R. K. O's production-distribution assets from its theater assets.: To accomplish this, R. K. O. was to form two hew holding companies: one, the “New Picture Company,” was to take over all R. K. O. subsidiaries engaged in- production and distribution; the other, the “New .'Theater Company,” Was to own.and control R.…
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