Source: http://www.chanrobles.com/usa/us_supremecourt/302/253/case.php
Timestamp: 2017-10-18 11:21:23
Document Index: 133428274

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 3', '§ 1', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 5278', '§ 3', '§ 1', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 3', '§ 32', '§ 9', '§ 7', '§ 1342', '§ 289', '§ 468']

PUERTO RICO V. SHELL CO., 302 U. S. 253 (1937) - US SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
US Supreme Court Decisions On-Line> Volume 302 > PUERTO RICO V. SHELL CO., 302 U. S. 253 (1937)
Subscribe to Cases that cite 302 U. S. 253
3. The existence of § 3 of the Sherman Antitrust Act did not preclude adoption by the legislature of Puerto Rico of a local antitrust Act. P. 302 U. S. 259. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Certiorari, 301 U.S. 675, to review a judgment affirming a judgment of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico which dismissed an appeal from an order of the insular district court sustaining demurrers to an information charging violation of the local antitrust Act. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The pertinent provisions of the Sherman Act and the local act are set forth in the margin. [Footnote 1] Section 3 of the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Sherman Act and § 1 of the local act, so far as the question here involved is concerned, are substantially identical. Section 4 of the Sherman Act confers jurisdiction chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
First. Section 3 of the Sherman Act extends to "any territory of the United States." But it is urged that Puerto Rico cannot be brought within the intent of this phrase, and therefore the section does not apply to that dependency. The point is not well made. When the Sherman Act was passed (1890), we had no insular dependencies, and necessarily, the application of § 3 did not extend beyond our continental domain, and undoubtedly it was this domain which was in the immediate contemplation of Congress. Certainly Congress at that time did not have Puerto Rico in mind. But that is not enough. It is necessary to go further and to say that, if the acquisition of that insular dependency had been foreseen, Congress would have so varied its comprehensive language as to exclude it from the operation of the act. 17 U. S. 644; Ozawa v. United States, 260 U. S. 178, 260 U. S. 195-196; United States v. Shagat Singh Thind,@ 261 U. S. 204, 261 U. S. 207-208. The only question therefore is whether the word "territory," as used in § 3 of the Sherman Act, properly can be applied to a dependency now bearing the relation to the United States which is borne by Puerto Rico.
In Balzac v. Puerto Rico, 258 U. S. 298, 258 U. S. 304-305, it was held that, although the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution, with respect to the right of trial by jury, applied to the territories of the United States, it did not apply to territory belonging to the United States which had not been incorporated into the Union, and that neither the Philippines nor Porto Rico was territory which had been so incorporated or had become a part of the United States, as distinguished from merely belonging to it. But it is evident, from a consideration of the pertinent acts chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
of Congress and the decisions of this Court with respect to these acts, that whether Puerto Rico comes within a given congressional act applicable in terms to a "territory" depends upon the character and aim of the act. Words generally have different shades of meaning, and are to be construed, if reasonably possible, to effectuate the intent of the lawmakers, and this meaning, in particular instances, is to be arrived at not only by a consideration of the words themselves, but by considering, as well, the context, the purposes of the law, and the circumstances under which the words were employed. Atlantic Cleaners & Dyers v. United States, 286 U. S. 427, 286 U. S. 433; Helvering v. Stockholms Enskilda Bank, 293 U. S. 84, 293 U. S. 86-88. Thus, although Puerto Rico is not a territory within the reach of the Sixth and Seventh Amendments, and may not be a "territory" within the meaning of the word as used in some statutes, we held in Kopel v. Bingham, 211 U. S. 468, 211 U. S. 474-476, that Puerto Rico was a "territory" within the meaning of § 5278 of the Revised Statutes, which provides for the demand and surrender of fugitive criminals by governors of territories, as well as of states. The court said that it was impossible to hold that Puerto Rico was not intended to have power to reclaim fugitives from its justice, or that it was intended that it should be an asylum for fugitives from the United States. The word "territory," as used in that statute, was defined as meaning
See Porto Rico v. Rosaly y Castillo, 227 U. S. 270, 227 U. S. 274. Compare Talbott v. Silver Bow County, 139 U. S. 438, 139 U. S. 444-445.
With equal force, it may be said here that there is no reason why Puerto Rico should not be held to be a "territory" within the meaning of § 3 of the Sherman Act. We pointed out in the Atlantic Cleaners & Dyers case, supra, p. 286 U. S. 435, that, in the light of the applicable history and circumstances, it was apparent that Congress meant to deal comprehensively with the subject of contracts, combinations, and conspiracies in restraint of trade, "and, to that end, to exercise all the power it possessed;" that, while Congress, in passing § 1, exercised only the power conferred by the commerce clause, in passing § 3, it exercised a general power unlimited by that clause. We therefore concluded that the word "trade," as used in § 3, should be given a more extended meaning than the same word as used in § 1.
Second. The court below held that, although § 1 of the local act contained some words not to be found in § 3 of the Sherman Act, the pertinent provisions were, in substance, the same; that the act charged in the information as a crime under the local statute was the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
1. Section 14 of the Foraker Act, passed April 12, 1900, c.191, 31 Stat. 77, 80, provided that the statutory laws of the United States, not locally inapplicable, should have the same force and effect in Puerto Rico as in the United States, with certain exceptions not material here. Section 27 (p. 82) provided: "That all local legislative powers hereby granted shall be vested in a legislative assembly." And, by § 32 (pp. 83-84), it was provided that the legislative authority "shall extend to all matters of a legislative character not locally inapplicable." These various provisions are continued in force by §§ 9, 25 and 37 of the Organic Act of March 2, 1917, c. 145, 39 Stat. 951. These provisions do not differ in substance from the various provisions relating to the powers of the organized and incorporated continental territories of the United States, in respect of which this Court said, in @ 80 U. S. 441, that the theory upon which these territories have been organized
and, in 85 U. S. 655-656, we said: "The powers thus exercised by the Territorial legislatures are nearly as extensive as those exercised by any State legislature." See also Cope v. Cope, 137 U. S. 682, 137 U. S. 684, where this Court, speaking of this typical general provision chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
contained in the Utah Organic Act, said that, with the exceptions noted in the provision itself, "the power of the territorial legislature was apparently as plenary as that of the legislature of a state." In Maynard v. Hill,@ 125 U. S. 190, 125 U. S. 204, the essential similarity of the various provisions in respect of the powers of territorial legislatures was pointed out, and it was said that what were "rightful subjects of legislation" was to be determined
2. The aim of the Foraker Act and the Organic Act was to give Puerto Rico full power of local self-determination chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
with an autonomy similar to that of the states and incorporated territories. Gromer v. Standard Dredging Co., 224 U. S. 362, 224 U. S. 370; Porto Rico v. Rosaly y Castillo, supra, p. 227 U. S. 274. The effect was to confer upon the territory many of the attributes of quasi-sovereignty possessed by the states -- as, for example, immunity from suit without their consent. Porto Rico v. Rosaly y Castillo, supra. By those acts, the typical American governmental structure, consisting of the three independent departments -- legislative, executive and judicial -- was erected. "A body politic" -- a commonwealth -- was created. 31 Stat. 79, § 7, c.191. The power of taxation, the power to enact and enforce laws, and other characteristically governmental powers were vested. And, so far as local matters are concerned, as we have already shown in respect of the continental territories, legislative powers were conferred nearly, if not quite, as extensive as those exercised by the state legislatures.
Our attention is called to certain differences of language in the two acts, and it is urged that these differences create a "risk" of conflict of interpretation between the local courts and the federal district courts. The fear of conflicting decisions is more fanciful than real, since we agree with the court below that there is, in fact, no substantial conflict between the pertinent provisions of the two statutes. But, in the unlikely event that, in spite of this conclusion, a conflict of decisions shall arise, the power of the federal appellate courts to resolve that conflict is clear. Secs. 128(a) and 240, Judicial Code, as chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
It likewise is clear that the legislative duplication gives rise to no danger of a second prosecution and conviction, or of double punishment for the same offense. The risk of double jeopardy [Footnote 2] does not exist. Both the territorial and federal laws and the courts, whether exercising federal or local jurisdiction, are creations emanating from the same sovereignty. See Balzac v. Puerto Rico, supra, p. 258 U. S. 312. Prosecution under one of the laws in the appropriate court necessarily will bar a prosecution under the other law in another court. Grafton v. United States, 206 U. S. 333. In that case, Grafton, a soldier in the army, had been acquitted by a general court-martial convened in the Philippine Islands of a crime not capital, alleged to have been committed in violation of the Sixty-Second Article of War. Subsequently, a criminal information in the name of the United States was filed in a Philippine court of first instance charging him with the same offense committed in violation of a local law. This Court held that the acquittal of the accused by the court-martial precluded his being again tried for the same offense in the civil courts for the reason that he would thus be put twice in jeopardy of punishment. The Sixty-Second Article of War [Footnote 3] was a federal statute. Revised Statutes, § 1342. The general court-martial was a federal tribunal. The Philippine act was a local law, and the court of first instance was a local court. But both of the laws and both chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
of the courts owed their existence to the same supreme authority. The situation presented there was, in all essentials, the same as that presented here. The decision of the court in that case rested upon the ground that the accused, having been acquitted by the federal tribunal, could not be subjected to prosecution in another court, civil or military, of the same sovereignty. We held that, although the same act might constitute distinct offenses against a state and against the United States, for both of which the accused might be prosecuted, that rule had no application to acts committed in the Philippine Islands. We said (pp. 206 U. S. 354-355):
An attempt is made to distinguish the Grafton case on the ground that but one statute was there involved -- namely, the statute of the Philippine Islands -- and that both the general court-martial and the Philippine court undertook to enforce that statute. Obviously that view is incorrect. The court-martial proceeding was not to enforce the Philippine legislation, but to enforce the Sixty-Second Article of War, and that article was nonetheless a federal law, distinct from the local law, because it might be necessary to refer to the local law to determine whether chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
the act charged against the soldier was embraced by the term "crimes" in the Sixty-Second Article. This is well illustrated by § 289 of the Criminal Code, as amended (18 U.S.C. § 468), which, in respect of offenses committed upon places subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States within the limits of a state or organized territory or district, makes applicable the laws of such state, territory, or district in respect of such offenses. Prosecutions under that section, however, are not to enforce the laws of the state, territory, or district, but to enforce the federal law, the details of which, instead of being recited, are adopted by reference. See United States v. Press Publishing Co., 219 U. S. 1.
The Supreme Court of Wyoming, in a very full and carefully drawn opinion, reached the conclusion that a statute of that territory defining and punishing the crime of bigamy was valid and enforceable notwithstanding the fact that an act of Congress defined and prescribed punishment for the same crime when committed in any of the territories. In re Murphy, 5 Wyo. 297, 40 P. 398. Following its discussion in respect of the relations between the national and territorial governments, and the extensive powers which had been conferred upon the latter, that court (5 Wyo. 297 at 315, 40 P. 398, 404) concluded: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In Territory v. Guyott, 9 Mont. 46, 22 P. 134, a territorial statute making it a felony to sell, barter, or give chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The Supreme Court of the Territory of Arizona, in Territory v. Alexander, 11 Ariz. 172, 89 P. 514, had before it for consideration a bigamy statute like that involved in the Wyoming case, and erroneously held it to be invalid. In reaching that conclusion, it expressly rejected the Wyoming, Utah, and Montana decisions upon the authority of Davis v. Beason, 133 U. S. 333, a case which we shall presently consider.
5. There is some general language in El Paso & N.E. Ry. Co. v. Gutierrez, 215 U. S. 87, and Davis v. Beason, supra, which, considered apart from the question which was involved and apart from the opinions in their entirety, seems to support the decision of the court below in the present case. The opinion of the court below and the argument of respondents here rest in the main upon these cases. An examination of them, however, will show that they have been misunderstood. The Gutierrez case involved the validity of a statute of the Territory of New Mexico which provided that no action for injuries inflicting death caused by any person or corporation in the territory should be maintained unless the person claiming damages should, within 90 days after the infliction chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
of the injuries complained of and 30 days before commencing suit serve upon the defendant an affidavit covering certain specified particulars. The statute also required that suit must be brought within a year and in a specified district court of the territory. The statute is set forth in full in the margin of the opinion of this Court in Atchison, T. & S.F. Ry. Co. v. Sowers, 213 U. S. 55, 213 U. S. 59-63. An action was brought in Taxes by Enedina Gutierrez against the railway company to recover damages for the death of her intestate. The accident causing the death happened in New Mexico, and the railway company set up the New Mexico statute by way of special plea and answer. A writ of error brought here for review the judgment of the Supreme Court of Texas holding that the case was controlled by the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 34 Stat. 232, and refusing to give effect to the New Mexico statute -- a statute which was plainly an attempted restriction upon the right of action conferred in unlimited terms by the Federal Employers' Liability Act, and therefore in direct conflict with that act. In deciding the question, this Court said that there could be no doubt that the act of Congress "would necessarily supersede the territorial law regulating the same subject." This is broad language, but it must be construed in the light of the question presented, which was whether a territorial act, in plain conflict with the federal act, was valid. In that situation, the applicable rule is that formulated by Chief Justice Marshall in @ 19 U. S. 399, where, speaking for this Court, he said:
See also Humphrey's Executor v. United States, 295 U. S. 602, 295 U. S. 627, and cases cited. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In the course of the opinion rendered by this Court in Davis v. Beason, supra, (p. 133 U. S. 348), it was said:
This generalization was not necessary to the decision of the case, and, taken literally, cannot stand, because, as in the Gutierrez case, it omits the element of actual conflict between the two acts of legislation. The decision itself sustained the validity of a statute penalizing any person who teaches, advises, counsels, or encourages the practice of bigamy or polygamy, notwithstanding there was a general act of Congress which had for its object the suppression of bigamy and polygamy in the territories. And the Court sad in its opinion (p. 133 U. S. 341) that bigamy and polygamy are "crimes by the laws of the United States, and they are crimes by the laws of Idaho;" and, further (p. 133 U. S. 348) that the act of Congress was a general law applicable to all territories, and "does not purport to restrict the legislation of the territories over kindred offenses, or over the means for their ascertainment and prevention." Each of the two observations which we have last quoted may have gone beyond the necessities of the case, and may fall within the rule announced by Chief Justice Marshall in the Cohens case. In any event, however, they indicate that the general statement first quoted is not to be given the sweeping effect which a categorical reading of the words might at first suggest.
Only a word need be said about Domenech v. National City Bank, 294 U. S. 199, which the court below thought lent support to its judgment. That case involved the validity of a tax sought to be imposed by Puerto Rico upon a branch of a national bank organized under the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary