Sealfon v. United States (332 U.S. 575)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 5, 1948 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 332 U.S. 575 · 68 S. Ct. 237
- Decided
- January 5, 1948
- Term
- October Term 1947
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Douglas
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court. This case presents the question whether an acquittal of conspiracy to defraud the United States precludes a subsequent prosecution for commission of the substantive offense, on the particular facts here involved. Two indictments were returned against petitioner and others. One charged a conspiracy to defraud the United States of its governmental function of conserving and rationing sugar by presenting false invoices and making false representations to a ration board to the effect that certain sales of sugar products were made to exempt agencies. The other indictment charged petitioner and Greenberg with the commission of the substantive offense, viz., uttering and publishing as true the false invoices. The conspiracy indictment was tried first and the following facts were shown: Defendant Greenberg manufactured syrup and approached Sanford Doctors, a salesman for a brokerage concern, to sell vanilla syrup. Doctors negotiated some sales to petitioner who did a wholesale business under the name of Sero Syrup Co. Thereafter Greenberg asked Doctors to get a list from petitioner showing the places where petitioner made sales and told him that if any sales were made to exempt agencies, Greenberg could sell to petitioner in larger quantities. Doctors so informed petitioner and some time thereafter petitioner wrote to Green-berg…
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