United States v. Petrillo (332 U.S. 1)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 23, 1947 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 332 U.S. 1 · 67 S. Ct. 1538
- Docket
- No. 954
- Argued
- May 5, 1947
- Decided
- June 23, 1947
- Term
- October Term 1946
- Vote
- 5–3
- Majority author
- Justice Black
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Burton, Justice R. H. Jackson, Justice Frankfurter (wrote a concurrence), Justice Black (wrote)
- Dissenting
- Justice Reed (wrote), Justice Rutledge, Justice Murphy
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Black delivered the opinion of the Court. The District Court dismissed a criminal information filed against the respondent, James C. Petrillo, on the ground that the statute on which the information was founded was unconstitutional. 68 F. Supp. 845. The case is here on direct appeal by the Government as authorized by the Criminal Appeals Act. 18 U. S. C. (Supp. V, 1946) § 682. The information charged a violation of the Communications Act of 1934, 48 Stat. 1064, 1102, as amended by an Act of April 16, 1946. 60 Stat. 89. The specific provisions of the Amendment charged to have been violated read: “Sec. 506. (a) It shall be unlawful, by the use or express or implied threat of the use of force, violence, intimidation, or duress, or by the use or express or implied threat of the use of other means, to coerce, compel or constrain or attempt to coerce, compel, or constrain a licensee— “(1) to employ or agree to employ, in connection with the conduct of the broadcasting business of such licensee, any person or persons in excess of the number of employees needed by such licensee to perform actual services; or “(d) Whoever willfully violates any provision of subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.” 60 Stat. 89. The information alleged that a…
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