United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Stilson v. United States, 250 U.S. 583 (1919)

Stilson v. United States

Nos. 264, 265

Argued October 20. 21, 1919

Decided November 10, 1919

250 U.S. 583

Syllabus

The denial of a severance in a criminal case is within the discretion of the judge. P. 250 U. S. 585.

The Constitution does not require Congress to grant peremptory challenges to defendants in criminal cases, and the longstanding provision of law (now in Jud.Code, § 287) that all of several defendants shall be treated as one for the purposes of such challenges does not infringe the right to an impartial jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. Id.

In a prosecution for conspiracy to violate the Espionage and Selective Service Acts, where the jury were in substance instructed to consider certain publications uttered by the defendants and determine from them, considered with all the other evidence, whether they

Page 250 U. S. 584

amounted to violations, held that related portion of the charge, on their right to call upon their general knowledge and information, were not objectionable. P. 250 U. S. 587.

The district judge is not required to analyze and discuss the details of the evidence, particularly when not requested to comment upon any special phase of it. P. 250 U. S. 588.

The evidence in this case was ample to justify the district court in submitting the question of the defendants' guilt to the jury. Id.

254 F.1d 0 affirmed.

The case is stated in the opinion.