United States v. Lem Hoy (330 U.S. 724)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 7, 1947 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 330 U.S. 724 · 67 S. Ct. 1004
- Decided
- April 7, 1947
- Term
- October Term 1946
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Black
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Black delivered the opinion of the Court. A United States Attorney filed an information in a Federal District Court charging that the appellee, Lem Hoy, “did attempt to induce, assist, encourage, and solicit, certain alien persons to migrate to the United States as contract laborers . . . who were not alien contract laborers duly entitled to migrate to the United States under the Act of February 5, 1917, or to enter or migrate to the United States under any other law of the United States, as the defendant then and there well knew.” The conduct charged was made an offense by § 5 of the 1917 Immigration Act referred to in the information. 39 Stat. 874, 879, 8 U. S. C. § 139. Hoy appeared, waived indictment, asked for a bill of particulars, and moved to dismiss the information on the ground that § 5 of the 1917 Act had been repealed by § 5 (g) of the Farm Labor Supply Appropriation Act of 1944. 58 Stat. 11, 15-16, 50 U. S. C. App., Supp. V, § 1355 (g). The bill of particulars showed that Hoy had written a letter to certain persons living in Mexico to induce them to come to the United States to work for him. In the letter Hoy told them that “it makes no difference if you pass as contraband (smuggle in), as wherever the Immigration catches you I will get you out with a bond.” The letter also directed the aliens to see a man near the border who would “bring” them to Hoy…
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