United States v. Lombardo

Background

A woman named Angeline Lombardo was indicted for keeping an alien woman for prostitution and for failing to file, within 30 days, a written statement about that woman with the Commissioner General of Immigration as required by Section 6 of the White Slave Traffic Act. The District Court sustained a demurrer (dismissed the indictment) on several constitutional grounds; the Supreme Court limited its review to the question whether the offense was committed in the Western District of Washington.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether “shall file” in the statute meant that a person could satisfy the duty by mailing the statement or had to deliver it to the Commissioner General’s office in Washington, D.C. The Court relied on ordinary meaning and prior authorities and concluded that “file” requires delivery and receipt at the designated office. The Court rejected the Government’s argument that mailing starts a continuous offense across districts or that a general statute letting crimes begun in one district and finished in another applies. Because the statute designates filing with the Washington office, the alleged failure was not committed in the local district, and the demurrer was properly sustained.

Real world impact

The decision limits where prosecutions under Section 6 can be brought: local courts cannot treat a failure to mail the required statement as an offense committed locally. Prosecutors will need to show the filing (or failure to file) occurred in Washington, D.C., or Congress must change the statute to allow filing by mail.