MacFadden v. United States

Background

Bemarr Macfaddén, charged in federal court in New Jersey for mailing obscene literature under a federal statute, was tried by a jury and found guilty. At trial he asked the judge to rule the statute unconstitutional for several reasons—free press, vagueness and due process, ex post facto, and improper delegation—but those requests were refused. He appealed to the Third Circuit, which affirmed his conviction, and then asked a Justice of this Court for permission to bring a writ of error directed to the Circuit Court of Appeals.

Reasoning

The Court considered whether it could review the Circuit Court of Appeals’ judgment. Under the 1891 law creating the Circuit Courts of Appeals, some cases may be taken directly to the Supreme Court, but other judgments—specifically those in criminal cases—are made final when decided by the Circuit Courts of Appeals. Because this case arose under the criminal laws, the Court concluded the Circuit Court of Appeals’ judgment was final under the statute. The opinion explained that a defendant who wanted direct Supreme Court review should have invoked that route initially; having gone to the Circuit Court of Appeals instead, he must accept its final judgment.

Real world impact

The decision refuses a path for further Supreme Court review of this criminal conviction and leaves the Circuit Court’s ruling in place. It does not decide whether the underlying obscenity statute is constitutional on the merits; it only enforces the statutory limits on when the Supreme Court will hear such criminal appeals.