United States v. Johnson (1944)
Encyclopedia
In United States v. Johnson, , the United States Supreme Court declined to permit a prosecution in Delaware
of defendants charged with violating the Federal Denture Act by sending denture
in the mail from Illinois
to Delaware, where they were received by a person not licensed to practice dentistry in Delaware. The Act prohibited the use of the mails or any instrumentality of interstate commerce "for the purpose of sending or bringing into" a state or territory any denture which had been cast by a person not licensed to practice dentistry in the state into which the dentures were sent. The Act contained no specific venue
provision, and the government contended that venue was therefore proper in the district where the transportation of the dentures began, the district in which it ended, or any district through which the dentures passed. The Court, adverting to "the serious hardship of defending prosecutions in places remote from home ... as well as the temptation to abuses ... in the administration of criminal justice," held that the sender could only be prosecuted in the district in which he mailed the dentures, adding that venue for the receiver would be limited to the district in which the dentures were delivered. It distinguished statutes which merely prohibited "transportation" of articles through the mails barring interstate commerce on the ground that the language of the Denture Act focused on the "sending or bringing into" a state or territory of the dentures.
"Questions of venue in criminal cases ... are not merely matters of formal legal procedure. They raise deep issues of public policy in the light of which legislation must be considered."
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
of defendants charged with violating the Federal Denture Act by sending denture
Dentures
Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental...
in the mail from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
to Delaware, where they were received by a person not licensed to practice dentistry in Delaware. The Act prohibited the use of the mails or any instrumentality of interstate commerce "for the purpose of sending or bringing into" a state or territory any denture which had been cast by a person not licensed to practice dentistry in the state into which the dentures were sent. The Act contained no specific venue
Venue (law)
Venue is the location where a case is heard. In the United States, the venue is either a county or a district or division . Venue deals with locality of a lawsuit--that is, in which locale a lawsuit may be filed or commenced...
provision, and the government contended that venue was therefore proper in the district where the transportation of the dentures began, the district in which it ended, or any district through which the dentures passed. The Court, adverting to "the serious hardship of defending prosecutions in places remote from home ... as well as the temptation to abuses ... in the administration of criminal justice," held that the sender could only be prosecuted in the district in which he mailed the dentures, adding that venue for the receiver would be limited to the district in which the dentures were delivered. It distinguished statutes which merely prohibited "transportation" of articles through the mails barring interstate commerce on the ground that the language of the Denture Act focused on the "sending or bringing into" a state or territory of the dentures.
"Questions of venue in criminal cases ... are not merely matters of formal legal procedure. They raise deep issues of public policy in the light of which legislation must be considered."