Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312 (1926). · Go Syfert
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312 (1926). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
Quick Summary

The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not authorize federal courts to revise state court decisions regarding the interpretation of state law.

After being indicted in federal court for manufacturing intoxicating liquor, defendants were arrested and prosecuted under a state statute for the same acts. The defendants argued that the state lacked jurisdiction and that the state court's construction of sentencing statutes violated the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause. The Court held that the Eighteenth Amendment allows federal and state prohibition laws to coexist independently, meaning a single act can constitute two distinct offenses without violating double jeopardy. Furthermore, the Court determined that the due process clause requires state action to be consistent with the fundamental principles of liberty and justice, but does not permit the federal judiciary to revise state court decisions regarding the interpretation of state law.

933 citation events (86 in the last 25 years) across 93 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: McKellips, Rory v. Winkleski, Dan (wiwd, 2022-04-26)
Treatment trajectory · 1926 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
1926 1976 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 50 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) McKellips, Rory v. Winkleski, Dan
W.D. Wis. · 2022 · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
whether state statutes shall be construed one way or another is a state question, the final decision of which rests with the courts of the state.
discussed Cited as authority (quoted) Nanette Tucker v. City of Chicago
7th Cir. · 2018 · signal: see · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
the due process of law clause in the fourteenth amendment does not take up the 12 no. 17-2480 statutes of the several states and make them the test of what it requires ... .
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Nanette Tucker v. City of Chicago (3×)
7th Cir. · 2018 · signal: see · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence high
the due process of law clause in the fourteenth amendment does not take up the statutes of the several states and make them the test of what it requires ....
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Ricky Jackson v. City of Cleveland
6th Cir. · 2019 · confidence medium
More concretely, as far back as 1935, the Supreme Court recognized that the introduction of fabricated evidence violates “the fundamental conceptions of justice which lie at the base of our civil and political institutions.” Mooney v. Holohan, 294 U.S. 103, 112 (1935) (citing Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 (1926)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Kwame Ajamu v. City of Cleveland
6th Cir. · 2019 · confidence medium
More concretely, as far back as 1935, the Supreme Court recognized that the introduction of fabricated evidence violates “the fundamental conceptions of justice which lie at the base of our civil and political institutions.” Mooney v. Holohan, 294 U.S. 103, 112 (1935) (citing Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 (1926)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Ricky Jackson v. City of Cleveland
6th Cir. · 2019 · confidence medium
More concretely, as far back as 1935, the Supreme Court recognized that the introduction of fabricated evidence violates “the fundamental conceptions of justice which lie at the base of our civil and political institutions.” Mooney v. Holohan, 294 U.S. 103, 112 (1935) (citing Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 (1926)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Hearns v NHSP, Warden
D.N.H. · 2008 · confidence medium
United States v. Lanier, 520 U.S. 259, 265-66 (1997); United States v. Batchelder, 442 U.S. 114, 123 (1979); Sabetti, 16 F.3d at 17. 32 Similarly, in Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 (1926), the Supreme Court rejected the claim that a state court's construction of a state law that increased a defendant's sentence violated due process, concluding: [w]hether state statutes shall be construed one way or another is a state question, the final decision which rests with the courts of the State.
cited Cited as authority (rule) Cook v. Schriro
9th Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 [ — 17, 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 (1926)].
cited Cited as authority (rule) Cook v. Schriro
9th Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 [-17, 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 (1926)].
cited Cited as authority (rule) Cook v. Schriro
9th Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 [-17 (1926)].
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Freeman, Willie v. Page, James H.
7th Cir. · 2000 · confidence medium
Gilmore v. Taylor, 508 U.S. 333 (1993); Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62 (1991); Pulley v. Harris, 465 U.S. 37 (1984); Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209 (1982); Henry v. Mississippi, 379 U.S. 443, 447 (1965); Garner v. Louisiana, 368 U.S. 157, 166 (1961); Gryger v. Burke, 334 U.S. 728, 731 (1948); Bute v. Illinois, 333 U.S. 640, 668 (1948); Herbert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 (1926).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Gerry C. Dubose v. John D. Kelly
8th Cir. · 1999 · confidence medium
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment "requires that action by a state through any of its agencies must be consistent with the fundamental principles of liberty and Justice which lie at the base of our civil and political institutions, which not infrequently are designated as'the law of the land.' " Buchalter v. New York, 319 U.S. 427, 429 (1943) (quoting Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316-17 (1926)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Albright v. Oliver (2×)
SCOTUS · 1994 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316, 317 [(1926)].
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Haworth v. State (2×)
Wyo. · 1992 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316, 317 [ 47 S.Ct. 103, 104 , 71 L.Ed. 270 ].
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Degraffenreid v. McKellar, Warden, Et Al.
SCOTUS · 1990 · confidence medium
Brown v. Mississippi, 297 U. S. 278, 286 (1936) (“The due process clause requires ‘that state action . . . shall be consistent with the fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions’”) (quoting Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316 (1926)); Rogers, 365 U. S., at 540-541 (the Due Process Clause requires suppression of confessions improperly obtained “not because such confessions are unlikely to be true but because the methods used to extract them offend an underlying principle in the enforcement of our criminal law”…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Teague v. Lane (2×)
SCOTUS · 1989 · confidence medium
In embracing Justice Cardozo’s notion that errors “violat[ing] those ‘fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions,’” Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U. S. 319, 328 (1937) (quoting Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316 (1926)), must be rectified, Justice Harlan expressly rejected a previous statement linking the fundamental fairness exception to factual innocence.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. William A. Kilpatrick, Declan J. O'donnell, Sheila C. Lerner, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Michael Alberga, C.S. Gill, and C.M. Smith (2×)
10th Cir. · 1987 · confidence medium
For, while the power of this Court to undo convictions in state courts is limited to the enforcement of those 'fundamental principles of liberty and juctice; Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 [ 47 S.Ct. 103, 104 , 71 L.Ed. 270 (1926) ], which are secured by the Fourteenth Amendment, the scope of our reviewing power over convictions brought here from the federal courts is not confined to ascertainment of Constitutional validity.
cited Cited as authority (rule) People v. Rosales
Mich. Ct. App. · 1987 · confidence medium
Hebert v Louisiana, 272 US 312, 316 ; 47 S Ct 103, 104 ; 71 L Ed 270, 273 ; 48 ALR 1102, 1106 (1926). [People v Grames, 8 Mich App 375, 378 ; 154 NW2d 548 (1967), lv den 380 Mich 756 (1968).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Colorado v. Connelly (2×)
SCOTUS · 1986 · confidence medium
Brown , a case involving the use of confessions at trial, makes clear that “[t]he due process clause requires ‘that state action, whether through one agency or another, shall be consistent with the fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions.’” Id., at 286 (emphasis added), citing Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316 (1926).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) In Re Grand Jury Subpoena Served Upon John Doe, Esq., Richard Roe, Intervenor-Appellant v. United States (2×)
2d Cir. · 1985 · confidence medium
The Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel is “of such a character that it cannot be denied without violating those ‘fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions’ ”, Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 67 (1932), quoting Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 (1926), and therefore necessarily is included in the concept of due process of law.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Andrews v. State
Ga. Ct. App. · 1985 · confidence medium
See also Ham v. South Carolina, 409 U. S. 524, 526 (1973); Lisenba v. California, 314 U. S. 219, 236 (1941); Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316 (1926); Hurtado v. California, 110 U. S. 516, 535 (1884).” The record in the case sub judice, including the multiple volumes of transcript, indicates that in the fact situation obtaining here, neither appellant’s statutory right to a speedy trial nor any of his constitutional due process or speedy trial rights has been abrogated.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Wilson v. Garcia (2×)
SCOTUS · 1985 · signal: cf. · confidence medium
Cf. Runyon v. McCrary, 427 U. S. 160, 179-182 (1976) (affirming Court of Appeals' reliance on statute of limitations for "personal injuries" actions in 42 U. S. C. § 1981 claim). [39] Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316 (1926); Powell v. Alabama, 287 U. S. 45, 67 (1932); Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U. S. 145, 148 (1968). [40] "It is a fundamental principle of law that while the citizen owes allegiance to the Government he has a right to expect and demand protection for life, person, and property.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) In Re Grand Jury Subpoena Served Upon John Doe, Esq. Richard Roe, Intervenor-Appellant v. United States (2×)
2d Cir. · 1985 · confidence medium
The Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel is “of such a character that it cannot be denied without violating those ‘fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions’ ”, Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 67 (1932), quoting Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 (1926), and therefore necessarily is included in the concept of due process of law.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) State v. Damiano
N.H. · 1984 · confidence medium
Due process requires not only that the State act according to the laws of the land, but also that its actions be “consistent with the fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions.” Herbert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 (1926).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Stevenson v. State
Md. · 1984 · confidence medium
The appellant argues “that ‘the fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions,’ Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 [ 47 S.Ct. 103, 104 , 71 L.Ed. 270, 273 ] (1926), may not tolerate the sustaining of a conviction based in part upon the false testimony of a professional expert witness ... simply because the State had no knowledge of the perjury, where the prosecution’s lack of diligence in not checking the expert’s credentials was confessed.” The state *305 argues that there was no denial of due process because th…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Robbins v. Robbins
Fla. Dist. Ct. App. · 1983 · confidence medium
Due process mandates that "state action, whether through one agency or another, shall be consistent with the fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions... ." Herbert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 317 , 47 S.Ct. 103, 104 , 71 L.Ed. 270, 273 (1926).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Deriso v. Cooper
Ga. · 1980 · confidence medium
Maher v. Gagne, — U. S. — (100 SC —, 65 LE2d 653) (1980); Herbert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316 (47 SC 103, 71 LE 270) (1926).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Holman
E.D. Pa. · 1980 · confidence medium
Ham v. South Carolina, 409 U.S. 524, 526 , 93 S.Ct. 848 , 35 L.Ed.2d 46 (1973); Lisenba v. California, 314 U.S. 219, 236 , 62 S.Ct. 280 , 86 L.Ed. 166 (1941); Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 [ 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 ] (1926); Hurtado v. California, 110 U.S. 516, 535 , 4 S.Ct. 111 , 28 L.Ed. 232 (1884).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Parets v. Eaton Corp.
E.D. Mich. · 1979 · confidence medium
The question before us must be considered in the light of the total power the State possesses (Castillo v. McConnico, 168 U.S. 674, 684 [ 18 S.Ct. 229 , 42 L.Ed. 622 ]; Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 [ 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 ]; United Gas Co. v. Texas, 303 U.S. 123, 142 [ 58 S.Ct. 483 , 82 L.Ed. 702 ]), and so considered we find no ground for holding that the action of the State with respect to appellant transcended the limits of that power.” 313 U.S. at 77-79, 61 S.Ct. at 929.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Jerry Allen Arnold v. D. J. McCarthy Superintendent, California Men's Colony (2×)
9th Cir. · 1978 · confidence medium
Ham v. South Carolina, 409 U.S. 524, 526 , 93 S.Ct. 848 , 35 L.Ed.2d 46 (1973); Lisenba v. California, 314 U.S. 219, 236 , 62 S.Ct. 280 , 86 L.Ed. 166 (1941); Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 (1926); Hurtado v. California, 110 U.S. 516, 535 , 4 S.Ct. 111 , 28 L.Ed. 232 (1884). 22 But once a person becomes "accused" the more stringent requirements of the Sixth Amendment speedy trial right apply.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Lovasco (2×)
SCOTUS · 1977 · confidence medium
See also Ham v. South Carolina, 409 U. S. 524, 526 (1973); Lisenba v. California, 314 U. S. 219, 236 (1941); Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316 (1926); Hurtado v. California, 110 U. S. 516, 535 (1884).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Patterson v. New York (2×)
SCOTUS · 1977 · confidence medium
See Mullaney, supra, at 690-691 ; Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316-317 (1926); Murdock v. Memphis, 20 Wall. 590, 635 (1875).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Henry Clay Burks v. Charles Egeler, Warden, People of the State of Michigan (2×)
6th Cir. · 1975 · confidence medium
Its requirement in safe-guarding the liberty of the citizen against deprivation through the action of the state embodies those 'fundamenal conceptions of justice which lie at the base of our civil and political institutions,' referred to in Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316, 317 , 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 , 48 A.L.R. 1102 .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) In Re Grand Jury Proceedings. Appeal of Jacqueline Schofield (2×)
3rd Cir. · 1975 · confidence medium
These rules are as fully ‘laws’ of the United States as if they had been enacted by Congress.” In the context of federal courts, the expression “exercise of its supervisory authority” had its genesis in McNabb v. United States, 318 U.S. 332, 340-341 , 63 S.Ct. 608, 613 , 87 L.Ed. 819 (1943), wherein Mr. Justice Frankfurter explained that in the review of direct criminal appeals, the Supreme Court was not limited to a consideration of constitutional rules: For, while the power of this Court to undo convictions in state courts is limited to the enforcement of those “fundamental princ…
cited Cited as authority (rule) Potter v. Ciccone
W.D. Mo. · 1970 · signal: cf. · confidence medium
Rawls v. United States (C.A. 10) 166 F.2d 532, 533 ; cf. Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 315, 316 , 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 , 48 A.L.R. 1102 .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Duncan v. Louisiana (2×)
SCOTUS · 1968 · confidence medium
Co. v. Chicago, 166 U. S. 226 (1897). [5] See, e. g., Fiske v. Kansas, 274 U. S. 380 (1927). [6] See Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U. S. 643 (1961). [7] Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U. S. 1 (1964). [8] Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U. S. 335 (1963). [9] Klopfer v. North Carolina, 386 U. S. 213 (1967). [10] In re Oliver, 333 U. S. 257 (1948). [11] Pointer v. Texas, 380 U. S. 400 (1965). [12] Washington v. Texas, 388 U. S. 14 (1967). [13] Quoting from Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316 (1926). [14] In one sense recent cases applying provisions of the first eight Amendments to the States represent a new approach to…
cited Cited as authority (rule) People v. Grames
Mich. Ct. App. · 1967 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana (1926), 272 US 312, 316 ( 47 S Ct 103, 104 , 71 L ed 270, 273, 48 ALR 1102, 1106 ).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Griswold v. Connecticut (2×)
SCOTUS · 1965 · confidence medium
See also, e. g., Wolf v. Colorado, 338 U. S. 25, 27 (“rights . . . basic to our free society”); Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316 (“fundamental principles of liberty and justice”); Adkins v. Children’s Hospital, 261 U. S. 525, 561 ("arbitrary restraint of . . . liberties”); Betts v. Brady, 316 U. S. 455, 462 (“denial of fundamental fairness, shocking to the universal sense of justice”); Poe v. Oilman, 367 U. S. 497, 539 (dissenting opinion) (“intolerable and unjustifiable”).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Whitmore
N.Y. Sup. Ct. · 1965 · confidence medium
(Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316, 317 .) The verdict was rendered against the defendant by which his substantial rights had been prejudiced; that the jury was guilty of such misconduct and prejudice by which a fair and due consideration of the case had ¡been prevented (Code Crim.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) State v. Parker (2×)
Or. · 1963 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316, 317 . * * *” ( 294 US 103, 111 ).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Rand v. State of Arkansas
W.D. Ark. · 1961 · confidence medium
The due process clause requires ‘that state action, whether through one agency or another, shall be consistent with the fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions.’ Hebert v. [State of] Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 [ 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 ].” In Moore v. Dempsey, 1923, 261 U.S. 86 , 43 S.Ct. 265 , 67 L.Ed. 543 , the court beginning at the bottom of page 90 of 261 U.S., at page 266 of 43 S.Ct., said: “In Frank v. Mangum, 237 U.S. 309, 335 [ 35 S.Ct. 582 , 59 L.Ed. 969 ], it was recognized of course that if in fac…
cited Cited as authority (rule) People v. Romeo
nygensess · 1961 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316, 317 .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Carbo v. United States (2×)
SCOTUS · 1961 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 315-316 (1926).
cited Cited as authority (rule) Walter L. Hayward v. Chesley H. Looney, Warden, United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas
10th Cir. · 1957 · confidence medium
Stripling v. United States, 10 Cir., 172 F.2d 636 ; Rawls v. United States, 10 Cir., 166 F.2d 532, 533 ; Hebert v. State of Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 315, 316 , 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 . 4 .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Nunn (2×)
Cal. · 1956 · confidence medium
(Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 [ 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 , 48 A.L.R. 1102 ]; Twining v. New Jersey, 211 U.S. 78, 100 [ 29 S.Ct. 14 , 53 L.Ed. 97 ]; Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U.S. 319, 323, 325, 326 [ 58 S.Ct. 149 , 82 L.Ed. 288 ]; Francis v. Resweber, 329 U.S. 459, 463 [ 67 S.Ct. 374 , 91 L.Ed. 422 ]; Adamson v. California, 332 U.S. 46, 53 [ 67 S.Ct. 1672 , 91 L.Ed. 1903 , 171 A.L.R. 1223 ].) The obtaining of a prescription from a duly licensed doctor by means of fraud, deceit and misrepresentation—in violation of the express commands of the Legislature—is reprehensible, unlaw…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States Ex Rel. Montgomery v. Ragen
N.D. Ill. · 1949 · confidence medium
Its require-' ment in safe-guarding the liberty of the citizen against deprivation through the action of the state embodies those ‘fundamental conceptions of justice which lie at the base of our civil and political institutions,’ referred to in Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U. S. 312, 316, 317 , 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 , 48 A.L.R. 1102 .
cited Cited as authority (rule) Stripling v. United States
10th Cir. · 1949 · confidence medium
Rawls v. United States, 10 Cir., 166 F.2d 532, 533 , and cases there cited; Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 315, 316 , 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 , 48 A.L.R. 1102 .
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States Ex Rel. Pasela v. Fenno
2d Cir. · 1948 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 315, 316 , 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 , 48 A.L.R. 1102 ; Florio v. Edwards, 5 Cir., 80 F.2d 509 ; Vale v. United States, 9 Cir., 254 F. 28 .
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Hoy v. State
Ind. · 1947 · confidence medium
R. 1102, 47 S. Ct. 103 ] embodied in the Bill of Rights of our Federal Constitution are within the concept of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, and, as such, a protection against abuse and misuse of power by executive, legislative or judicial power of the respective states.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Danskin v. San Diego Unified School District (2×)
Cal. · 1946 · confidence medium
Hebert v. Louisiana, 272 U.S. 312, 316 [ 47 S.Ct. 103 , 71 L.Ed. 270 ]; Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 67 [ 53 S.Ct. 55 , 77 L.Ed. 158 , 84 A.L.R 527]; Grosjean v. American Press Co. [ 297 U.S. 233 ( 56 S.Ct. 444 , 80 L.Ed. 660 )], supra. These rights may be abused by using speech or assembly in order to incite to violence and crime.
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
HEBERT Et Al.
v.
LOUISIANA
24.
Supreme Court of the United States.
Nov 1, 1926.
272 U.S. 312
1926 U.S. LEXIS 3
Messrs. A. R. Mitchell and Thomas A. Edwards for the plaintiff in error, submitted., Messrs. Percy Saint, Attorney General of Louisiana, Percy T. Ogden, Assistant Attorney General, John J. Robira, and E. R. Showalter for the State of Louisiana, submitted.
Van Devanter.
Cited by 401 opinions  |  Published
2 passages pin-cited by 2 cases
Pinpoint authority: bottom 74%
Citer courts: Seventh Circuit (4)
Mr. Justice Van Devanter

delivered the opinion of the Court.

The State of Louisiana, like the United States, has a statute making it a criminal offense to manufacture intoxicating liquor for beverage purposes. A judgment of the Supreme Court of the State affirming a conviction under this statute, 158 La. 209, is presented for review by this writ of error. ' The writ was sued out before the Act of February 13, 1925, c. 229, 43 Stat. 936, and falls within the saving clause in the last section.

When the accusation was preferred in‘the state court, and when the accused were arrested thereon, they already were under indictment in the federal district court for the same acts as an offense against the federal statute and were on bail awaiting trial in that court. When taken before the staté court they- interposed a plea, first, that it was without authority to entertain the accusation, because the acts charged constituted an offense against the United States of which the federal district court was[*314] given exclusive jurisdiction by § 256 of the federal judicial code, and, second, that, even if the accusation could be entertained, their arrest under state process while they were on bail awaiting trial in the federal district court was in derogation of the authority of the latter, and therefore did not give jurisdiction of their persons. The plea was overruled and this is assigned as error.

We think the ruling was right. The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution contemplates that the manufacture of intoxicating liquor for beverage purposes may be denounced as a criminal offense both by the federal law and by the state law; and that these laws may not only coexist but be given full operation, each independently of the other. Where such manufacture is thus doubly denounced, one who engages therein commits two distinct offenses, one against the United States and one against the State, and may be subjected to prosecution and punishment in the federal, courts for one and in the state courts for the other without any infraction of the constitutional rule against double jeopardy, it being limited to repeated prosecutions “for the same offense.” United States v. Lanza, 260 U. S. 377.

The provision in § 256 of the federal judicial code has no bearing on the authority of a state court to entertain an accusation for an offense against the state law. That provision relates to offenses “cognizable under the authority of the United States.” Only offenses against the laws of the United States are cognizable under its authority. Those against state laws are cognizable only under the authority of the State. And this is true where the same act is an offense .against both a law of the United States and a law of the State.

An argument is advanced to the effect that the State in denouncing the manufacture of intoxicating liquor for beverage purposes as a criminal offense and in taking proceedings to punish the offenders is exerting a power[*315] derived from the Eighteenth Amendment, and therefore that all that is done by the State in that regard must be taken as done under the authority of the United States. The same argument was advanced in United States v. Lanza, supra, and was rejected as unsound for reasons which we deem it well to repeat here—

“ To regard the Amendment as the source of the power of the States to adopt and enforce prohibition measures is to take a partial and erroneous view of the matter. Save for some restrictions arising out of the Federal Constitution, chiefly the commerce clause, each State possessed that power in full measure prior to the Amendment, and the probable purpose of declaring a concurrent power to be in the States was to negative any possible inference that in vesting the National Government with the power of country-wide prohibition, state power would be- excluded. In effect, the second section of the Eighteenth Amendment put an end to restrictions upon the State’s power arising out of the Federal Constitution and left her free to enact prohibition laws applying to all transactions within her limits. To be sure, the first section of the Amendment took from the States all power to authorize acts falling within its prohibition, but. it did not cut down or displace prior state laws not inconsistent with it. Such laws derive their force, as do all new ones consistent with it, not from this Amendment, but from power originally belonging to the States, preserved to them by the Tenth Amendment, and now relieved .from the restriction heretofore arising out of the Federal Constitution. This 'is the ratio decidendi of our decision in Vigliotti v. Pennsylvania, 258 U. S. 403.”

It, of course, was essential that the state court have jurisdiction of the persons of the accused. In fact they were before it and were accorded full opportunity to defend. In the absence of any showing to the contrary, and there is jione, it properly may be assumed that the[*316] United States acquiesced in their arrest and trial on the accusation under the state law, notwithstanding they were then on bail awaiting trial in the federal court on the indictment pending there. Certainly, if the United States was not objecting, the fact that the accused were thus on bail awaiting trial in the federal court presented no obstacle to the arrest under the process of the state court as a means of acquiring jurisdiction of their persons. Ponzi v. Fessenden, 258 U. S. 254, 260; Beavers v. Haubert, 198 U. S. 77, 85; Peckham v. Henkel, 216 U. S. 483, 486.

The accused also assign error on a ruling respecting the maximum period of imprisonment admissible under the state law. Two statutes were involved. The accused took the position that one was special ánd excluded the other.. But the trial court rejected that view, construed the statutes as intended to be taken together, and as a result imposed a more burdensome sentence than- was named in. the statute which the accused thought controlling. The Supreme Court sustained that construction, and the accused contend here, as' they did in that court, that the construction was wrong and, being wrong, operated as a denial of due process of law in the s'ense of the Fourteenth Amendment. The contention must be overruled. Whether state statutes shall be construed one way or another is a state question, the final decision of which rests with the courts of the State. The due process of law clause in the Fourteenth Amendment does not take up the statutes of the several States and make them the test of what it requires; nor does it enable this Court to.revise the decisions of the state courts on questions of state law. What it does require is that state action, whether through one agency or another, shall be consistent with the fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions and not infrequently are designated as law of the[*317] land.” Those principles are applicable alike in all the States and do not depend upon or vary with local legislation. Castillo v. McConnico, 168 U. S. 674, 682-683; West v. Louisiana, 194 U. S. 258, 261-263; Patterson v. Colorado, 205 U. S. 454, 459; Pullman Co. v. Knott, 235 U. S. 23, 25; Enterprise Irrigation District v. Farmers Mutual Canal Co., 243 U. S. 157, 166. The Supreme Court of the State having held that the two statutes must be taken together in determining the penalty intended we must accept that conclusion as if written into the statutes themselves. Lindsley v. Natural Carbonic Gas Co., 220 U. S. 61, 73. All that would be open in this Court under the due process clause is whether the State had power to impose the penalty fixed by the statutes as thus construed. Rawlins v. Georgia, 201 U. S. 638, 640. That the State had such power is not questioned, but only that the statutes rightly construed show that the power has been exercised. On this question, as we have said, the decision of the Supreme Court of the State is controlling*

Judgment affirmed.