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United States v. Jackson, 390 U.S. 570 (1968)
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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. Jackson, 390 U.S. 570 (1968)
United States v. Jackson No. 85 Argued December 7, 1967 Decided April 8, 1968 390 U.S. 570
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT
Syllabus
The Federal Kidnaping Act provides that interstate kidnapers
shall be punished (1) by death if the kidnaped person has not been liberated unharmed, and if the verdict of the jury shall so recommend, or (2) by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, if the death penalty is not imposed.
The District Court dismissed the count of an indictment charging appellees with violating the Act because it makes "the risk of death" the price for asserting the right to trial by jury, and thus "impairs . . . free exercise" of that constitutional right. The Government appealed directly to this Court.
Held: The death penalty clause imposes an impermissible burden upon the exercise of a constitutional right, but that provision is severable from the remainder of the Act and the unconstitutionality of that clause does not require the defeat of the Act as a whole. Pp. 572-591.
262 F.Supp. 716, reversed and remanded.
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Chicago:
U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," United States v. Jackson, 390 U.S. 570 (1968) in 390 U.S. 570 Original Sources, accessed November 3, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=TULG8HUQSPRMAY9.
MLA:
U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." United States v. Jackson, 390 U.S. 570 (1968), in 390 U.S. 570, Original Sources. 3 Nov. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=TULG8HUQSPRMAY9.
Harvard:
U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in United States v. Jackson, 390 U.S. 570 (1968). cited in 1968, 390 U.S. 570. Original Sources, retrieved 3 November 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=TULG8HUQSPRMAY9.
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