United States v. Bitty

Background

A man was indicted for bringing an alien woman from England into the United States so she would live with him as his concubine (an illicit, unmarried sexual relationship). Federal statutes had long made it a crime to import women for prostitution. A later law forbade importing any alien woman for “prostitution, or for any other immoral purpose.” The trial court dismissed the indictment after sustaining a demurrer, holding that bringing a woman to be a concubine was not the same as importing her for prostitution.

Reasoning

The Court considered whether “any other immoral purpose” in the immigration law was meant to cover bringing a woman to live as a concubine. It explained that words in a penal law should be given their ordinary meaning and that Congress clearly intended to bar immigration that threatened public morality and the family. The Court concluded that concubinage is of the same general kind as prostitution in terms of moral harm and therefore falls within “any other immoral purpose.” The Court also rejected the defendant’s claim that the special procedure letting the Government bring the case directly to this Court violated the Constitution.

Real world impact

The decision reverses the dismissal and sends the case back so the indictment can proceed. It confirms that federal immigration law can be used to prosecute people who bring alien women to the United States to live as concubines. The ruling also upholds the Government’s ability to seek immediate review here when an indictment is dismissed on statutory grounds.