Source: https://www.legalcrystal.com/case/91977/cameron-vs-united-states
Timestamp: 2018-05-26 19:54:07
Document Index: 578030576

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 21', '§ 21', '§ 7', '§ 860', '§ 7', '§ 860', '§ 7']

Cameron Vs United States - Citation 91977 - Court Judgment | LegalCrystal
LegalCrystal Citation legalcrystal.com/91977
Case Number 231 U.S. 710
cameron v. united states - 231 u.s. 710 (1914) u.s. supreme court cameron v. united states, 231 u.s. 710 (1914) cameron v. united states no. 165 argued october 21, 1913 decided january 5, 1914 231 u.s. 710 certiorari to the circuit court of appeals for the second circuit syllabus the estate of the bankrupt is in process of administration after the petition has been filed and a receiver appointed and an examination may be ordered at any time thereafter under § 21a of the bankruptcy act. section 7 of the bankruptcy act does not prevent a prosecution for perjury in the giving of testimony by the bankrupt; the immunity applies to past transactions concerning which the bankrupt is examined. glickstein v. united.....
Cameron v. United States - 231 U.S. 710 (1914)
U.S. Supreme Court Cameron v. United States, 231 U.S. 710 (1914)
Section 7 of the Bankruptcy Act does not prevent a prosecution for perjury in the giving of testimony by the bankrupt; the immunity applies to past transactions concerning which the bankrupt is examined. Glickstein v. United States, 222 U. S. 139 .
In the absence of clearly expressed legislative intent, retrospective operation will not be given to statutes, nor, in absence of such intent, will a statute be construed as impairing rights relied upon in past conduct when other legislation was in force. Union Pacific R. Co. v. Laramie Stock Yards, ante, p. 231 U. S. 190 .
This is a writ of certiorari to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The case concerns a prosecution
commenced in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York by the finding of two indictments against the petitioner herein, charging perjury in a bankruptcy proceeding. Upon trial, the defendant, Cameron, was convicted and sentenced, and upon writ of error, the judgment of the circuit court was affirmed by the circuit court of appeals, 192 F. 548.
The controversy is over the meaning of the phrase, "a bankrupt whose estate is in process of administration under this act." The construction of this provision differs
in the federal courts, some of them having held that there can be no such examination until after adjudication, as it is only then that the bankrupt can be subjected to such proceeding. Of this class are Skubinsky v. Bodek, 172 F. 332; Podolin v. McGettigan, 193 F. 1021; In re Thompson, 179 F. 874; In re Davidson, 158 F. 678; In re Crenshaw, 155 F. 271. To the opposite view are In re Fixen & Co. 96 F. 748; In re Fleischer, 151 F. 81; Ex Parte Bick, 155 F. 908; Wechsler v. United States, 158 F. 579; United States v. Liberman, 176 F. 161. We are of opinion that the estate was in process of administration at the time when the examination before the commissioner was ordered and the testimony of Cameron given. This Court has decided that the filing of the petition in bankruptcy operates to place the property of the alleged bankrupt in custodia legis, and prevents any creditor from attaching it; and, although, by the terms of the act, the estate does not vest in the trustee until the date of the adjudication, it is placed at the time of the filing of the petition under the control of the court with a view to its ultimate distribution among creditors. Acme Harvester Co. v. Beekman Lumber Co., 222 U. S. 300 , 222 U. S. 307 , and see Mueller v. Nugent, 184 U. S. 1 , 184 U. S. 14 ; Everett v. Judson, 228 U. S. 474 , 228 U. S. 478 -479. And this is true notwithstanding, as contended by the petitioner, that, should the attempt to obtain an adjudication of bankruptcy fail upon the subsequent hearings, the receivership would necessarily be vacated and the property turned back to the alleged bankrupt.
In order to arrive at the true meaning of § 21a, other provisions as well as the purpose of the act must be had in view. The object of the examination of the bankrupt and other witnesses to show the condition of the estate is to enable the court to discover its extent and whereabouts, and to come into possession of it, that the rights of creditors may be preserved. If such examination is postponed
Counsel for petitioner relies upon the immunity clause of § 7 of the Bankruptcy Act, and upon § 860 of the Revised Statutes in force at the time the testimony was given, but repealed by the Act of May 7, 1910, 36 Stat. 352, c. 216. Section 7, subdivision 9, of the Bankruptcy Act, cited above, concludes: "But no testimony given by him shall be offered in evidence against him in any criminal proceeding." This section was before this Court, so far as the immunity provided is concerned, in Glickstein v. United States, 222 U. S. 139 , where it was held not to prevent a prosecution for perjury in the giving of testimony by a bankrupt, and the immunity was held to apply to past transactions concerning which the bankrupt might be examined. In the opinion in that case, Edelstein v. United States, Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 149 F. 636, which had held that the words "any criminal proceeding" in which immunity is provided are limited to such criminal proceedings as arise out of the conduct of the bankrupt's business or the disposition of his property, etc., concerning which he may be examined, was cited with approval. In Ensign v. Pennsylvania, 227 U. S. 592 , 227 U. S. 600 , it was held that full effect could be given to the immunity provision by confining it to the testimony given under subdivision 9, to which it was immediately subjoined. As the present prosecutions was based upon alleged false swearing in the course of the bankruptcy proceedings, § 7 of the Bankruptcy Act can have no application.
The government contends that the subsequent repeal of this section deprives the petitioner of the immunity afforded. We cannot agree with this contention. It would be subversive of principles of right and justice to give such effect to a statute upon the protection of which the petitioner had the right to rely at the time when called upon to testify in the bankruptcy court, and in consequence of which he may be presumed to have given his testimony. A retrospective operation of statutes is not to be given except in clear cases, unequivocally evidencing the legislative intent to that effect. Union Pacific R. Co. v. Laramie Stock Yards Co., 231 U. S. 190 , 231 U. S. 199 , and previous cases in this Court, cited in the opinion in that case. Summers v. United States, 231 U. S. 92 . In the absence of a clearly expressed legislative intent to the contrary, the court will presume that the lawmaking power is acting for the future, and does not intend to impair obligations incurred or rights relied upon in the past conduct of men when other legislation was in force. White v. United States, 191 U. S. 545 , 191 U. S. 552 .
The circuit court of appeals in the instant case was of opinion that the petitioner was entitled to the immunity afforded in § 860 of the Revised Statutes, but failed to find in the record any instance of its violation. Section 860, by its express terms, does not exempt a party from prosecution for perjury committed in testifying in the instances named. It was held in Glickstein v. United States, supra, of § 7 of the Bankruptcy Act, that this immunity was not intended to put a premium upon perjury by giving protection against the use of the testimony in prosecutions for that crime, and we cannot agree with petitioner's contention that the use of such testimony is limited to proving that
The effect of this testimony was to distinctly contradict the testimony which Cameron had given before the referee, and which was the subject matter of the indictment based on the proceedings before that officer. It did not tend to establish the charge growing out of his testimony before