· 6/1/1915

Ebeling v. Morgan

Citations

237 U.S. 625
35 S. Ct. 710
59 L. Ed. 1151
1915 U.S. LEXIS 1377

Syllabus

Section 189, Criminal Code, makes an offender of anyone, cutting, tearing, or otherwise injuring any mail bag with felonious intent; and, as the wording plainly indicates that it was the intent of Congress to protect every bag from felonious injury each time any one mail bag is tom or injured j the offense is complete irrespective of any attack upon, or mutilation of, any other bag. Under § 189, Criminal Code, successive cuttings of different mail bags, with criminal intent, constitute separate offenses. The same course of conduct, and upon the same occasion, may amount to separate offenses and be separately punished.’ Gavieres v. United States, 220 U. S. 338. Where, as in this case, proof of cutting and opening one sack completed the offense, and although the defendant continued the operation of cutting into other sacks, proof of cutting one would not have supported the counts as to the other sacks, there was not one continuous offense punishable by a single penalty, but the cutting into each of the several sacks constituted a separate crime for which the defendant could be separately punished.-

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

noting that the language of the offense plainly indicated intent to protect mailbags
upholding six convictions of defendant based upon defendant’s cutting into six mail bags in a single transaction because Congress intended punishment for each act of damage to a mail bag
upholding six convictions of defendant based upon defendants cutting into six mail bags in a single transaction because Congress intended punishment for each act of damage to a mail bag
finding each successive tearing of a mailbag to constitute one commission of the offense of willfully tearing a mailbag with intent to rob
allowing six counts when defendant cut six mail bags because “the language of the statute plainly indicates that it was the intention of the lawmakers to protect each and every mail bag from felonious injury and mutilation”
under statute prohibiting injuring a mail bag with intent to steal mail, defendant could be convicted on separate counts for each mail bag injured in one criminal episode

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Judges: Day, McReynolds

Read full opinion on CourtListener

Sourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.