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Cool v. United States, 409 U.S. 100 (1972)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Cool v. United States, 409 U.S. 100 (1972)
Cool v. United States No. 72-72 Decided December 4, 1972 409 U.S. 100
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES
COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Trial court’s "accomplice instruction," in effect requiring the jury to decide that a defense witness’ testimony was "true beyond a reasonable doubt" before considering that testimony, impermissibly obstructed the right of a criminal defendant to present exculpatory testimony of an accomplice (Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14); and it unfairly reduced the prosecution’s burden of proof, since it is possible that the testimony would have created a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury, but that it was not considered because the testimony itself was not believable beyond a reasonable doubt. Cf. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358.
Certiorari ranted; 461 F.2d 621, reversed and remanded.
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Chicago:
U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Cool v. United States, 409 U.S. 100 (1972) in 409 U.S. 100 Original Sources, accessed August 30, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=4QPWWEC4BISBBG3.
MLA:
U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Cool v. United States, 409 U.S. 100 (1972), in 409 U.S. 100, Original Sources. 30 Aug. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=4QPWWEC4BISBBG3.
Harvard:
U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Cool v. United States, 409 U.S. 100 (1972). cited in 1972, 409 U.S. 100. Original Sources, retrieved 30 August 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=4QPWWEC4BISBBG3.
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