Warszower v. United States

Background

A man was indicted for entering the United States with a passport he had obtained by lying about his name, citizenship, place of birth, and prior residence abroad. The government relied on the man’s presentation of passport No. 332,207 to an immigration inspector when arriving on the S.S. Normandie on September 30, 1937. A jury convicted him, and he received a two-year sentence; the Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed before the case reached this Court.

Reasoning

The Court considered whether showing a wrongfully obtained passport to an immigration officer counted as a forbidden use, whether the evidence of that use was sufficient, and whether admissions the man had made before using the passport had to be corroborated. The inspector’s testimony, tied to the ship’s manifest and the passport number, was enough for a jury to find the passport had been presented. The Court also held that statements the defendant made before the passport was used do not have the same weaknesses as confessions made after a crime, so they do not require corroboration. Additional proof supporting falsity included an earlier ship manifest showing his 1914 arrival as an alien, draft registrations and questionnaires listing foreign birth and alien status, a 1932 reentry permit application, lack of any naturalization efforts, and a forged birth record submitted in 1936.

Real world impact

The decision affirms that presenting a passport obtained by false statements to an immigration inspector can support a criminal conviction. Prosecutors may rely on prior admissions and immigration records, along with inspector testimony, to prove passport fraud. Justice Murphy took no part in the decision.