Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

Pereira v. United States

74 S. Ct. 358

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1954-02-01
Topic
general

holding that the mailing element is satisfied by a mailing which is "incident to an essential part of the scheme” | holding that aiding and abetting does not require any agreement, but merely that one “consciously shares in a criminal act” | recognizing that the privilege does not apply to communi- cations made in the presence of third parties | holding that since the fraudulently obtained checks had to be sent to an out-of-state bank for collection, the petitioner was guilty of violating § 2314 because he " `caused' [the check] to be transported in interstate commerce" | holding that since the fraudulently obtained checks had to be sent to an out-of-state bank for collection, the petitioner was guilty of violating § 2314 because he “ ‘caused’ [the check] to be transported in interstate commerce” | holding that “knowledge” of the scheme satisfied the intent requirement for accomplice liability | holding that one “causes” mail to be used where one “does an act with knowledge that the use of the mails will follow in the ordinary course of business, or where such use can reasonably be foreseen, even though not actually intended.” | explaining that “cases construing the mail fraud statute are applicable to the wire fraud statute as well” | holding that the presence of a third party renders communications non-confidential | holding that a person causes the use of a wire by “do[ing] an act with knowledge that the use of [a wire] will follow in the ordinary course of business, or where such use can reasonably be foreseen ” (emphasis added) | finding that it is sufficient if the wire transmission is “incident to an essential part of the scheme.” | stating that "proof that the use of the mails was, objec- tively, reasonably foreseeable is sufficient to support a conviction for conspiracy to commit mail fraud" | stating that "proof that the use of the mails was, objec- tively, reasonably foreseeable is sufficient to support a conviction for conspiracy to commit mail fraud" | finding that negotiation of check drawn on an out-of-state bank evinced an interstate transaction | stating that “[w]here one does an act with knowledge that the use of the mails will follow in the ordinary course of business, even though not actually intended, then he ‘causes’ the mails to be used.” | recognizing importance of whether agreement required to commit the substantive offense | recognizing importance of whether agreement required to commit the substantive offense | distinguishing between causing the use of the mails and finding the mailing to be in furtherance of the scheme | noting that the marital communications privilege protects communications, not acts | “Aiding, abetting and counseling are not terms which presuppose the existence of an agreement.” | describing the two elements of mail fraud as (1) the scheme and (2) “the mailing of a letter, etc., for the purpose of executing the scheme” | “Aiding, abetting, and counseling are not terms which presuppose the existence of an agreement.” | “Aiding [and] abetting ... are not terms which presuppose the. existence of an agreement.” | “Aiding, abetting, and counseling are not terms which presuppose the existence of an agreement.” | “Aiding, abetting and counseling are not terms which presuppose the existence of an agreement.” | mailing was from one bank to another, victim was defendant’s wife | using this definition of “cause” in the context of mail fraud | Communication made to or in the presence of third parties was not intended to be kept confidential. | a federal violation exists if the use of the mails is “incident to an essential part of the scheme” | “The presence of a third party negatives the presumption of privacy. So too, the intention that the information conveyed be transmitted to a third person.” | under mail fraud statute, defendants who never mailed anything can be convicted of mail fraud because they caused stolen property to be mailed | elements of mail fraud include (1) the existence of

Citator

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