Source: http://openjurist.org/317/us/200
Timestamp: 2016-10-28 03:46:57
Document Index: 87421818

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 682', '§ 682', '§ 682', '§ 682']

317 US 200 United States v. Wayne Pump Co | OpenJurist
317 U.S. 200 - United States v. Wayne Pump Co Homethe United States Reports317 U.S.
In the light of the opinion, however, we conclude that the judgment upholding the demurrer was based also on grounds independent of the construction of the statute involved. The demurrers upon which the ruling below was based show on their face, as appears from the typical example below, that they were aimed not at the coverage of the Sherman Act but at the form of the indictments.3 This was the objection determined by the court. The excerpts from the opinion quoted above are conclusive, we think, that the District Court rested its ruling on the insufficiency of the pleading as an independent ground.
Since the judgment below was not placed solely upon the invalidity or construction of the statute but had an additional and independent ground, the Criminal Appeals Act does not authorize review. United States v. Hastings, 296 U.S. 188, 193, 56 S.Ct. 218, 220, 80 L.Ed. 148; United States v. Halsey, Stuart & Co., 296 U.S. 451, 56 S.Ct. 299, 80 L.Ed. 323; United States v. Borden Co., 308 U.S. 188, 193, 60 S.Ct. 182, 185, 84 L.Ed. 181.4 Any contrary holding would be to assume a power of review not bestowed by Congress.5 Furthermore, at the time of the entry of the District Court judgment, there was no provision for review of orders sustaining demurrers upon grounds other than those involving the construction of the basic statute.
The Criminal Appeals Act,6 under which the government brought these cases here, now contains a provision for a remand to the circuit court of appeals if review by this Court on direct appeal is found to be unauthorized. The government does not differ with appellees' specific statement that the new provision is inapplicable to this appeal. We do not think that it is applicable. Six weeks after time to appeal had expired7 the act was amended.8 The amendment for the first time permits appeals to the circuit courts of appeals from orders sustaining a demurrer to an indictment in cases not directly appealable to this Court. The time to appeal to all courts remains unchanged. The amendment provides that 'if an appeal shall be taken pursuant to this Act (section) to the Supreme Court of the United States which, in the opinion of that Court, should have been taken to a circuit court of appeals * * * the Supreme Court of the United States shall remand the cause to the circuit court of appeals * * * which shall then have jurisdiction to hear and determine the same as if the appeal had been taken to that court in the first instance; * * *.' This language directs the remand of a case in which the appeal, at the time it was taken, should have been taken to the circuit court of appeals but was instead erroneously taken to this Court. It is intended to save to the government the right of appeals which might otherwise be lost by its erroneous view as to the proper appellate tribunal.9 At the time the instant appeals were taken there was no statutory authority for an appeal to the circuit court of appeals and therefore no room for an erroneous choice between appellate courts. Consequently, the proviso has no application. To hold otherwise would be to give a right of appeal where none existed at the time the appeal was taken. While this might be permissible if there were such a legislative intention, the amendment is not retrospective in terms. Stephens v. Cherokee Nation, 174 U.S. 445, 478, 19 S.Ct. 722, 734, 43 L.Ed. 1041; Freeborn v. Smith, 2 Wall. 160, 17 L.Ed. 922. Nor does it appear that Congress had the instant case in mind in enacting the amendment. H. Rouw Co. v. Crivella, 310 U.S. 612, 60 S.Ct. 1084, 84 L.Ed. 1389. We therefore view the right to appeal and the court to which an appeal lies as they existed at the time the appeal was taken. Gwin v. United States, 184 U.S. 669, 674, 22 S.Ct. 526, 528, 46 L.Ed. 741.
Section 1: 'Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal. * * * Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared (by sections 1—7 of this title) to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $5,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.' 50 Stat. 693, 15 U.S.C. § 1, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1.
Section 2: 'Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $5,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.' 26 Stat. 209, 15 U.S.C. § 2, 15 U.S.C.A. § 2.
As amended on May 9, 1942, the Act further provides: 'An appeal may be taken by and on behalf of the United States from the district courts to a circuit court of appeals or the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, as the case may be, in all criminal cases, in the following instances, to wit: From a decision or judgment quashing, setting aside, or sustaining a demurrer or plea in abatement to any indictment or information, or any count thereof except where a direct appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States is provided by this Act (section).' 56 Stat. 271, 18 U.S.C. § 682, 18 U.S.C.A. § 682.
Act of March 2, 1907, 34 Stat. 1246, 18 U.S.C. § 682, 18 U.S.C.A. § 682.