Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/317/412/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 13:55:13
Document Index: 208861074

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 268', '§ 385', '§ 1044', '§ 582', '§ 268', '§ 1044', '§ 268', '§ 268', '§ 1044', '§ 268', '§ 1044', '§ 1044', '§ 1043', '§ 581', '§ 268', '§ 135', '§ 241', '§ 135', '§ 268', '§ 268', '§ 268']

Pendergast v. United States :: 317 U.S. 412 (1943) :: Justia US Supreme Court Center
Justia › US Law › US Case Law › US Supreme Court › Volume 317 › Pendergast v. United States
Petitioners press several objections to the judgment below. The chief of these are that the offense was not a contempt under § 268 of the Judicial Code, 28 U.S.C. § 385, as construed by Nye v. United States, 313 U. S. 33, and that, even though it was, the prosecution of it was barred by the three-year statute of limitations contained in § 1044 of the Revised Statutes, 18 U.S.C. § 582. We do not reach the first of these questions, and need not express an opinion on it. For, although we assume arguendo that the Circuit Court of Appeals was correct in holding (128 F.2d at 683) that the conduct of petitioners was "misbehavior" in the "presence" of the court within the meaning of § 268 of the Judicial Code, and
It would seem that the statute fits this case like a glove. If the conduct in question was a contempt, there can be no doubt that it was a criminal contempt as defined by our decisions. See Nye v. United States, supra, pp. 313 U. S. 41-43, and cases cited. As such, it was an "offense" against the United States within the meaning of § 1044. It was held in Gompers v. United States, 233 U. S. 604, that a willful violation of an injunction, likewise punishable as a contempt under § 268 of the Judicial Code, was such an "offense." And see United States v. Goldman, 277 U. S. 229. Cf. Ex parte Grossman, 267 U. S. 87. It was said in the Gompers case that those contempts were
233 U.S. at 233 U. S. 610. That observation is equally pertinent here. Moreover, we can see no reason for treating one type of contempt under § 268 of the Judicial Code differently in this respect from others under the same section. No such difference is discernible from the language of § 1044. Because of that, and because of the further circumstance that Congress classified them together in defining the offense in § 268, we can hardly conclude that a distinction between them for purposes of § 1044 should be implied. Furthermore, the fact that this prosecution was by information, the absence of which has been held not fatal under § 1044 (Gompers v. United States,
supra, 233 U.S. at 233 U. S. 611-612) brings the case squarely within the language of the section.
Certainly the power to punish contempts in the "presence" of the court, like the power to punish contempts for willful violations of the court's decrees, "must have some limit in time." Gompers v. United States, supra, p. 233 U. S. 612. It is urged, however, that there is no limitation on prosecutions for contempts in the "presence" of the court except as one may be implied from the conclusion of the proceeding in which the contempt arises. But, if we are free to consider the matter as open, no reason for that different treatment of contempts in the "presence" of the court is apparent. Adams v. Woods, 2 Cranch 336, held that this statute of limitations was applicable to an action of debt for a penalty. Chief Justice Marshall stated that it would be "utterly repugnant to the genius of our laws" to allow such an action to lie "at any distance of time." Id. p. 6 U. S. 342. That observation is equally apt here. Proceedings like the rate litigation out of which this prosecution arose might well continue for years on end awaiting final disposition of all the funds. If there is a contempt, it takes place when the "misbehavior" occurs in the "presence" of the court. Statutes of limitations normally begin to run when the crime is complete. See United States v. Irvine, 98 U. S. 450. Every statute of limitations, of course, may permit a rogue to escape. Yet, as Chief Justice Marshall observed in Adams v. Woods, supra, p. 6 U. S. 342, "not even treason can be prosecuted after a lapse of three years." That was still true at the time of this offense. See R.S. § 1043, 18 U.S.C. § 581. There is no reason why this lesser crime, punishable without some of the protective features of criminal trials, should receive favored treatment.
only to proceedings for contempt "not committed in the presence of the court." 233 U.S. at 233 U. S. 606. But that reservation, made out of an abundance of caution, also extended to "proceedings of this sort only" (id., p. 233 U. S. 606) -- viz., proceedings where no information was filed. Ex parte Terry, 128 U. S. 289, 128 U. S. 314, sanctioned summary punishment for "direct contempts" committed in the "presence" of the court. The question whether that procedure could be followed "at a subsequent term, or at a subsequent day of the same term" was specifically reserved. Id., p. 128 U. S. 314. That is a procedural problem peculiar to direct contempts in the face of the court (see Cooke v. United States, 267 U. S. 517) and obviously has no relevancy to the problem of the statute of limitations.
The prosecution contends, however, that the offense consisted in the imposition of a fraudulent scheme upon the court, that successful execution of the scheme required not only misrepresentations to the court but continuous cooperation in concealing the scheme until its completion, that the fraud on the court would not be fully effected until 80% of the impounded funds was distributed to the insurance companies and $750,000 paid by Street and divided among petitioners. On that theory, the fraudulent scheme, though commenced before the three-year period, continued thereafter. Accordingly, it is argued, by analogy to such cases as United States v. Kissel, 218 U. S. 601, 218 U. S. 607-608; Hyde v. United States, 225 U. S. 347, 225 U. S. 367-370; Brown v. Elliott, 225 U. S. 392, 225 U. S. 400-401, that the statute of limitations began to run only after the latest act in the execution of the scheme. It is true that the information was drawn on the theory of such a continuing offense. But the difficulty with that theory lies in the nature of the offense described by § 268 of the Judicial Code.
"presence" of the court. If this was an ordinary criminal prosecution brought under § 135 of the Criminal Code, 18 U.S.C. § 241, for "corruptly" obstructing "the due administration of justice," quite different considerations would govern. The fact that the acts were not in the "presence" of the court would be immaterial. And we may assume that a fraudulent scheme of the character of the present one would constitute a continuous offense under that section. We may also assume that certain "misbehavior" in the "presence" of the court might constitute an offense under § 135 of the Criminal Code as well as a contempt under § 268 of the Judicial Code, so as to give a choice between prosecution before a jury and prosecution before a judge. But the offense of "misbehavior" in the "presence" of the court does not have the sweep of "corruptly" obstructing or conspiring to obstruct "the due administration of justice." Congress restricted the class of offenses for which one may be tried without a jury. In the present case, as in prosecutions for contempt for willful violations of injunctions (Gompers v. United States, supra, p. 233 U. S. 610) each act "so far as it was a contempt, was punishable as such," and therefore "must be judged by itself." As we have said, once the "misbehavior" occurs in the "presence" of the court, the crime is complete. It is conceded that, but for the misrepresentations made to the court, there would have been no "misbehavior" in its "presence" within the meaning of § 268 of the Judicial Code. And it is not claimed that there were any misrepresentations made to the court within three years of the filing of the information; or if May 29, 1939, the date when the court directed the inquiry, be deemed the important one (Gompers v. United States, supra, p. 233 U. S. 608) there is no contention that any such misrepresentations were made within three years of that time. It is not fraud on the court which § 268 makes punishable as a contempt, unless that fraud is "misbehavior" in the "presence" of the court