United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

VAN GUNDY v. U.S. , 419 U.S. 1004 (1974)

November 11, 1974

Rehearing Denied Jan. 13, 1975.

See 419 U.S. 1116.

On petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.

Page 419 U.S. 1004 , 1005

Mr. Justice BRENNAN, with whom Mr. Justice STEWART and Mr. Justice MARSHALL join, dissenting.

Petitioners were convicted in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana of receiving allegedly obscene material which had been shipped by common carrier in interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1462, which provides in pertinent part:

'Whoever . . . knowingly uses any express company or other common carrier, for carriage in interstate or foreign commerce--

'(a) any obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy book, pamphlet, picture, motion-picture film, paper, letter, writing, print, or other matter of indecent character; or

* * * * *

'Whoever knowingly takes from such express company or other common carrier any matter or thing the carriage of which is herein made unlawful--

'Shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both . . ..'

The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed, 490 F.2d 76 (CA5 1974).

I adhere to my dissent in United States v. Orito, 413 U.S. 139, 147 (1973), in which, speaking of 18 U.S.C. 1462, I expressed the view that '[w]hatever the extent of the Federal Government's power to bar the distribution of allegedly obscene material to juveniles or the offensive exposure of such material to unconsenting adults, the statute before us is clearly overbroad and unconstitutional on its face.' Id., at 147-148. For the [419 U.S. 1004 , 1006]

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