United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Lanza v. New York, 370 U.S. 139 (1962)

Lanza v. New York

No. 236

Argued April 2, 1962

Decided June 4, 1962

370 U.S. 139

Syllabus

Petitioner was convicted in a state court of violating a state statute by willfully refusing to answer pertinent questions of a duly constituted legislative committee conducting an authorized legislative investigation, after he had been given immunity from prosecution. In this Court, he contended that his conviction violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because a conversation which he had with his brother in a public jail, where the latter was confined, was intercepted without their knowledge by state officials through an electronic listening device and a transcript of the conversation was used by the legislative committee in interrogating petitioner. The State's highest court certified that it had passed upon this claim and held that petitioner's constitutional rights were not violated. However, the record showed that at least two of the questions which petitioner was convicted of refusing to answer were not related in any way to the intercepted conversation, and refusal to answer either of these questions was sufficient to support the judgment.

Held: The constitutional claim asserted by petitioner is not tendered by the record in this case, and the judgment is affirmed. Pp. 370 U. S. 139-147.

9 N.Y.2d 895, 175 N.E.2d 833, affirmed.