National Association of Manufacturers v. McGrath

• Citation: 103 F. Supp. 510
• Decision Date: 17 March 1952
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 381-48.
• Parties: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS OF UNITED STATES et al. v. McGRATH.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

103 F. Supp. 510

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS OF UNITED STATES et al. v. McGRATH.

Civ. A. No. 381-48.

United States District Court District of Columbia.

March 17, 1952.

Carl McFarland, Ashley Sellers, Raymond S. Smethurst and Kenneth L. Kimble, all of Washington, D. C., for the plaintiffs.

Holmes Baldridge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Edward H. Hickey, Donald B. MacGuineas, and Irving Malchman, Attorneys, Department of Justice, all of Washington, D. C., for the defendant.

Before WILBUR K. MILLER, Circuit Judge, and SCHWEINHAUT and HOLTZOFF, District Judges.

HOLTZOFF, District Judge.

This action is brought by the National Association of Manufacturers of the United States and one of its officers against the Attorney General of the United States, to enjoin him from instituting prosecutions against them for violations of the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act, Act of August 2, 1946, secs. 302-311, 60 Stat. 839, 2 U.S. C.A. §§ 261-270. The basis of the action is twofold: first, that the Act is unconstitutional; and, second, that even if valid, it is not applicable to the plaintiffs.

The Act may be divided into two parts: First, all persons, except political committees, who directly or indirectly solicit, collect, or receive money to be used principally to aid, or whose principal purpose is to aid in the passage or defeat of any legislation by the Congress of the United States; or to influence, directly or indirectly, the passage or defeat of legislation by the Congress of the United States, are required to keep a detailed and exact account of contributions and expenditures with receipted bills, and to file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives quarterly statements listing contributions and expenditures. Secs. 303-307.

The second part of the Act requires persons who engage for pay, or for any consideration, to attempt to influence the passage or defeat of legislation by the Congress of the United States, to register with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and with the Secretary of the Senate, and to file certain quarterly reports. Sec. 308. These two parts of the Act are severable. The second is not involved in this action.

It is a general principle that equity will not enjoin prosecuting officers of the Government from instituting or maintaining criminal prosecutions.¹ Any defense that a person has to a criminal prosecution may be asserted at the trial of the criminal case and will not be adjudicated in advance by a court of equity. For this reason, this Court will not consider the contention that on the factual situation presented by the evidence, consisting of lengthy depositions and voluminous exhibits, the plaintiff Association is not subject to the terms of the statute. This is a defense that must be passed upon, in a criminal proceeding, if a prosecution is instituted.

On the other hand, an exception to the general principle is at times made if it is contended that the statute is unconstitutional and the consequences of a violation may be unusually serious, possibly resulting in irreparable damage.² For example, in this case if the statute is valid and the Association erroneously determines that it is not subject to its provisions, it may be liable to a penalty, not only of a fine, but of a proscription for a period of three years from attempting to influence directly or indirectly the passage or defeat of any proposed legislation by the Congress. The Court is of the opinion that this case is within the exception insofar as concerns the contention that the pertinent provisions of the statute are unconstitutional. Accordingly the Court will in this action pass upon the validity of these provisions.

The Government has raised the question whether the plaintiffs are in a position to maintain this action on the ground that no prosecution has, as yet, been threatened. A great deal of testimony has been taken on this issue. The Court finds that such a prosecution has, in fact, been threatened, even though the threat has not been made formally.

The vital provision of the pertinent portions of the statute, Sec. 307, makes its requirements applicable to any person who, by himself or through any agent or employee, or other persons, in any manner whatsoever, directly or indirectly, solicits, collects, or receives money to be used principally to aid, or whose principal purpose is to aid, in the passage or defeat of any legislation by the Congress, or to influence, directly or indirectly, the passage or defeat of any legislation by the Congress of the United States. It is a well established principle that a criminal statute must define the crime with sufficient precision and formulate an ascertainable standard of guilt, in order that any person may be able to determine whether any action, or failure to act, is prohibited. A criminal statute which does not comply with this principle is repugnant to the due process clause and is, therefore, invalid. This is a fundamental principle in our constitutional system, since without it, it would be possible to punish a person for some action or failure to act not defined in the criminal law and which that person had no way of knowing was forbidden.

For example, in International Harvester Co. v. Kentucky, 234 U.S. 216, 221, 34 S. Ct. 853, 58 L.Ed. 1284, the Court passed upon the validity of a Kentucky statute, which made certain combinations for the purpose of controlling prices lawful, unless for the purpose or with the effect of fixing a price that was greater or less than the real value of the article. The Court held that the statute offered no standard of conduct and was, therefore, invalid.

In United States v. L. Cohen Grocery Co., 255 U.S. 81, 89, 41 S.Ct. 298, 65 L.Ed. 516, the Court held unconstitutional an Act of Congress, which made it unlawful for any person wilfully to make any unjust or unreasonable rate or charge in handling or dealing in or with any necessaries. This result was reached on the ground that no definite standard of conduct was prescribed by the statute.

In Connally v. General Const. Co., 269 U. S. 385, 391, 46 S.Ct. 126, 128, 70 L.Ed. 322, the Court considered an Oklahoma statute, which provided that all persons employed by or on behalf of the State shall be paid not less than the current rate of per diem wages in the locality where the work is performed. It was held that this statute was repugnant to the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment on the ground that the phrase "current rate of wages" and the word "locality" were indefinite and ambiguous. The Court summarized the pertinent principles as follows: "That the terms of a penal statute creating a new offense must be sufficiently explicit to inform those who are subject to it what conduct on their part will render them liable to its penalties is a well-recognized requirement, consonant alike with ordinary notions of fair play and the settled rules of law; and a statute which either forbids or requires the doing of an act in terms so vague that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application violates the first essential of due process of law."

In Cline v. Frink Dairy Co., 274 U.S. 445, 456, 47 S.Ct. 681, 71 L.Ed. 1146, the Court struck down a State statute, which declared all combinations to be against public policy, unlawful and void, except those whose object and purpose was to conduct operations at a reasonable profit or to market at a reasonable profit those products which otherwise could not be so marketed. The Court reached the conclusion that this statute involved so many factors of varying effect that one could not decide in advance whether any proposed action on his part would violate it.

In Champlin Refining Co. v. Corporation Commission, 286 U.S. 210, 242, 52 S.Ct. 559, 76 L.Ed. 1062, the Court held...