Blackmer v.

United States

Blackmer v. United States

Blackmer v. United States

Supreme Court of the United States

Argued January 5, 1932
Decided February 15, 1932
Full case name

Blackmer v. United States

Citations

284 U.S. 421

[1]

(more)

Holding
International law recognized a state's right to retain jurisdiction over its citizens abroad. Fines against Blackmer upheld.
Court membership

Chief Justice
Charles E. Hughes
Associate Justices
Oliver W. Holmes, Jr. Willis Van
Devanter
James C. McReynolds Louis Brandeis
George Sutherland Pierce Butler
Harlan F. Stone Owen J. Roberts

Case opinions
Majority

Hughes
Roberts took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

Blackmer v. United States, 284 U.S. 421 [2] (1932), is a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Harry M. Blackmer was a United States citizen resident in Paris. Blackmer was found guilty of contempt by the
Supreme Court of the District of Columbia for refusing to appear as a witness for the United States in a criminal
trial, which is related to the Teapot Dome Scandal, after being subpoenaed.
Blackmer was subsequently fined $30,000 and the costs of the court. Blackmer challenged the fine under the due
process clause of the Fifth Amendment.
The Court unanimously ruled against Blackmer, with Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes delivering the judgment
and opinion of the Court and Justice Owen Josephus Roberts not participating.
Chief Justice Hughes, in delivering the opinion of the Court, stated "[n]or can it be doubted that the United States
possesses the power inherent in sovereignty to require the return to this country of a citizen, resident elsewhere,
whenever the public interest requires it, and to penalize him in case of refusal." Also, "[i]t is also beyond controversy
that one of the duties which the citizen owes to his government is to support the administration of justice by
attending its courts and giving his testimony whenever he is properly summoned."

Blackmer v. United States

Further reading
Blakesley, Christopher L. (1982). "United States Jurisdiction over Extraterritorial Crime". The Journal of
Criminal Law and Criminology 73 (3): 11091163. doi:10.2307/1143188 [3]. JSTOR1143188 [4].

External links
Text of Blackmer v. United States, 284 U.S. 421 (1932) is available from: Findlaw [5]Justia [2]

References
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]

https:/ / supreme. justia. com/ us/ 284/ 421/ case. html

http:/ / supreme. justia. com/ us/ 284/ 421/ case. html
http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 2307%2F1143188
http:/ / www. jstor. org/ stable/ 1143188
http:/ / caselaw. lp. findlaw. com/ cgi-bin/ getcase. pl?court=US& vol=284& invol=421& friend=nytimes

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Blackmer v. United States Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=573704989 Contributors: Amalas, Apokrif, Bender235, Cdogsimmons, Charislogia, Cryptic, Eastlaw, Good
Olfactory, Grethko, Headbomb, K8lj, Legalskeptic, Lockley, Mareino, Newprogressive, Retired username, RevelationDirect, Savidan, 3 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

Image:Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court.svg License: unknown Contributors:
Ipankonin

License
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