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United States v. Gainey, 380 U.S. 63 (1965)
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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.
United States v. Gainey, 380 U.S. 63 (1965)
United States v. Gainey No. 13 Argued October 15, 1964 Decided March 1, 1965 380 U.S. 63
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Respondent was convicted of illegal possession of a still and carrying on the business of a distiller without a bond, in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5601(a)(1) and (4). The trial judge’s instructions informed the jury of statutory provisions authorizing it to infer guilt from respondent’s unexplained presence at the still site. The Court of Appeals reversed the convictions as violative of due process requirements.
Held:
1. The statutory presumption in § 5601(b)(2) is constitutionally permissible, since there is a rational connection between a defendant’s unexplained presence at a still and the comprehensive crime of the illegal distilling operation. Pp. 65-68.
2. The statute deprives the trial judge of none of his normal powers with respect to submitting the case to the jury or granting a judgment notwithstanding a verdict. P. 68.
3. The statute does not prevent the jury from being instructed on the standards for reasonable doubt, and the jury here was instructed that the statutory inference was not conclusive. Pp. 68-70.
322 F.2d 292 reversed.
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Chicago:
U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," United States v. Gainey, 380 U.S. 63 (1965) in 380 U.S. 63 Original Sources, accessed November 3, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LLQPVLR45NEM77C.
MLA:
U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." United States v. Gainey, 380 U.S. 63 (1965), in 380 U.S. 63, Original Sources. 3 Nov. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LLQPVLR45NEM77C.
Harvard:
U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in United States v. Gainey, 380 U.S. 63 (1965). cited in 1965, 380 U.S. 63. Original Sources, retrieved 3 November 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LLQPVLR45NEM77C.
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