Williams v. United States (341 U.S. 97)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 23, 1951 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 341 U.S. 97 · 71 S. Ct. 576
- Docket
- No. 365
- Argued
- January 8, 1951
- Decided
- April 23, 1951
- Term
- October Term 1950
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Douglas
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Clark, Justice Burton, Justice Douglas (wrote), Justice Reed
- Dissenting
- Justice Minton (wrote), Justice R. H. Jackson (wrote), Justice Frankfurter (wrote), Justice Black
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court. The question in this case is whether a special police officer who in his official capacity subjects a person suspected of crime to force and violence in order to obtain a confession may be prosecuted under § 20 of the Criminal Code, 18 U. S. C. (1946 ed.) § 52, now 18 U. S. C. § 242. Section 20 provides in pertinent part: “Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects, or causes to be subjected, any inhabitant of any State, Territory, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States . . . shall be fined not more than $1,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.” The facts are these: The Lindsley Lumber Co. suffered numerous thefts and hired petitioner, who operated a detective agency, to ascertain the identity of the thieves. Petitioner held a special police officer’s card issued by the City of Miami, Florida, and had taken an oath and qualified as a special police officer. Petitioner and others over a period of three days took four men to a paint shack on the company’s premises and used brutal methods to obtain a confession from each of them. A rubber hose, a pistol, a blunt instrument, a sash cord and other implements were used in the project. One man was forced to…
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