Della Bennett v. United States

Decision Date24 February 1913
Docket NumberNo. 603,603
Citation227 U.S. 333,57 L.Ed. 531,33 S.Ct. 288
PartiesDELLA BENNETT, Piff. in Err. and Petitioner, v. UNITED STATES
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Mr. Max Levy for plaintiff in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 334-337 intentionally omitted] Assistant Attorney General Harr and former Solicitor General Lehmann for defendant in error.

Mr. Justice McKenna delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff in error and petitioner was indicted in the district court for the southern district of Ohio for the violation of the act of June 25, 1910 [36 Stat. at L. 825, chap. 395, U. S. Comp. Stat. Supp. 1911, p. 1343]. She filed a motion to quash and a demurrer to the indictment, which were overruled, and upon a plea of not guilty she was tried, convicted, and sentenced to eleven months' imprisonment in the county jail in Miami county, Ohio, and to pay the costs of the prosecution.

She made motions for a new trial and in arrest of judgment, which were overruled, and she then prosecuted error to the circuit court of appeals, where the judgment against her was affirmed. 114 C. C. A. 402, 194 Fed. 630.

The demurrer and the motion in arrest of judgment raised the question of the constitutionality of the statute, and the decision of the circuit court of appeals sustaining the ruling of the district court, is assigned as error. The constitutionality of the law was decided in No. 381 [227 U. S. 308, 57 L. ed. ——, 33 Sup. Ct. Rep. 281], and the reasons there given need not be repeated.

Rulings of the district court and the decision of the circuit court of appeals upon them are also assigned as error.

(1) Defendant was indicted for having caused the transportation of Opal Clarke; and, it is said, the testimony showed that her correct name was Jeanette, but that she had gone by the names of Opal and Nellie, her real name, however, being Jeanette Laplante. A variance is hence asserted between the allegation and the proof. The court of appeals rightly disposed of the contention. As the court said, the essential thing in the requirement of correspondence between the allegation of the name of the woman transported and the proof is that the record be in such shape as to inform the defendant of the charge against her and to protect her against another prosecution for the same offense. The record is sufficient for both purposes. As the court of appeals said: 'This leaves no possible ground for prejudice resulting from the double variance between the name used in the indictment and the name known to the respondent and the real name.'

(2) The defendant, at the conclusion of the testimony, moved the court to instruct the jury to return a verdict of not gulity on the second count of the indictment for the reason that the indictment alleged that the tickets were procured at Chicago, Illinois, whereas the testimony showed that they were procured in Cincinnati, Ohio. The circuit court of appeals did not pass on that assignment. It was either not made, or it was considered to have no substantial support by...

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  • United States v. Schneiderman
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of California
    • 18 Agosto 1952
    ...at the trial; and (2) that he may be protected against another prosecution for the same offense." Cf. Bennett v. United States, 1913, 227 U.S. 333, 338-339, 33 S. Ct. 288, 57 L.Ed. 531. In my opinion these "obvious requirements" are fully met in the case at bar even though the evidence whic......
  • Kansas City Star Company v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit
    • 13 Marzo 1957
    ...prosecution for the same acts. United States v. Cruikshank, 1875, 92 U.S. 542, 566, 568, 23 L.Ed. 588; Bennett v. United States, 1913, 227 U.S. 333, 338, 33 S.Ct. 288, 57 L.Ed. 531; Berger v. United States, 1935, 295 U.S. 78, 82, 55 S.Ct. 629, 79 L.Ed. 1314; Hewitt v. United States, 8 Cir.,......
  • United States v. Edwards
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    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of California
    • 4 Abril 1936
    ...v. United States (1913) 227 U.S. 308, 33 S.Ct. 281, 57 L.Ed. 523, 43 L.R.A. (N.S.) 906, Ann.Cas.1913E, 905; Bennett v. United States (1913) 227 U.S. 333, 33 S.Ct. 288, 57 L.Ed. 531; Harris v. United States (1913) 227 U.S. 340, 33 S.Ct. 289, 57 L.Ed. 534; Caminetti v. United States (1917) 24......
  • Commonwealth v. Snow
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    • United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
    • 7 Enero 1930
    ...harm in his defense, if enough appears to protect him against another prosecution for the same offense. See Bennett v. United States, 227 U. S. 333, 338, 33 S. Ct. 288, 57 L. Ed. 531;Commonwealth v. Bannon, 254 Mass. 320, 150 N. E. 7;Commonwealth v. Baxter (Mass.) 166 N. E. 742;Bartkus v. U......
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