United States v. Kahriger (345 U.S. 22)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 9, 1953 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 345 U.S. 22 · 73 S. Ct. 510
- Docket
- No. 167
- Argued
- December 16, 1952
- Decided
- March 9, 1953
- Term
- October Term 1952
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Reed
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Reed (wrote), Justice R. H. Jackson (wrote a concurrence), Justice Burton, Justice Clark, Justice Minton
- Dissenting
- Justice Black (wrote), Justice Frankfurter (wrote), Justice Douglas
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Reed delivered the opinion of the Court. The issue raised by this appeal is the constitutionality of the occupational tax provisions of the Revenue Act of 1951, which levy a tax on persons engaged in the business of accepting wagers, and require such persons to register with the Collector of Internal Revenue. The unconstitutionality of the tax is asserted on two grounds. First, it is said that Congress, under the pretense of exercising its power to tax has attempted to penalize illegal intrastate gambling through the regulatory features of the Act (26 U. S. C. (Supp. V) § 3291) and has thus infringed the police power which is reserved to the states. Secondly, it is urged that the registration provisions of the tax violate the privilege against self-incrimination and are arbitrary and vague, contrary to the guarantees of the Fifth Amendment. The case comes here on appeal, in accordance with 18 U. S. C. § 3731, from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where an information was filed against appellee alleging that he was in the business of accepting wagers and that he willfully failed to register for and pay the occupational tax in question. Appellee moved to dismiss on the ground that the sections upon which the information was based were unconstitutional. The District Court sustained the motion on the authority of our opinion…
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