Rogers v. United States (340 U.S. 367)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided February 26, 1951 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 340 U.S. 367 · 71 S. Ct. 438
- Docket
- No. 20
- Argued
- November 7, 1950
- Decided
- February 26, 1951
- Term
- October Term 1950
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority author
- Justice Vinson
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson (wrote), Justice Minton, Justice Burton, Justice R. H. Jackson, Justice Reed
- Dissenting
- Justice Douglas, Justice Frankfurter, Justice Black (wrote)
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Chief Justice Vinson delivered the opinion of the Court. This case arises out of an investigation by the regularly convened grand jury of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. The books and records of the Communist Party of Denver were sought as necessary to that inquiry and were the subject of questioning by the grand jury. In September, 1948, petitioner, in response to a subpoena, appeared before the grand jury. She testified that she held the position of Treasurer of the Communist Party of Denver until January, 1948, and that, by virtue of her office, she had been in possession of membership lists and dues records of the Party. Petitioner denied having possession of the records and testified that she had turned them over to another. But she refused to identify the person to whom she had given the Party’s books, stating to the court as her only reason: “I don’t feel that I should subject a person or persons to the same thing that I’m going through.” The court thereupon committed petitioner to the custody of the marshal until ten o’clock the next morning, expressly advising petitioner of her right to consult with counsel. The next day, counsel for petitioner informed the court that he had read the transcript of the prior day’s proceedings and that, upon his advice, petitioner would answer the questions to purge herself of contempt. However, upon…
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