Frank v. United States

192 F. 864, 113 C.C.A. 188, 1911 U.S. App. LEXIS 4899
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedDecember 5, 1911
DocketNo. 2,123
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 192 F. 864 (Frank v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frank v. United States, 192 F. 864, 113 C.C.A. 188, 1911 U.S. App. LEXIS 4899 (6th Cir. 1911).

Opinion

KNAPPEN, Circuit Judge.

The appellants were informed against under the food and drugs act of June 30, 1906 (34 S. L. 768), for shipping in interstate commerce an article of food labeled “Perfection Mills Compound White Pepper,” alleged in separate counts to have been, respectively, misbranded and adulterated. The alleged adulteration consists in the fact that the article contains only about 65 per cent, of white pepper, the remaining 35 per cent, being a corn product, which is alleged to have been so mixed and packed with the pepper as to reduce and lower its quality and strength. As the corn product was of such a nature as not to constitute adulteration if properly branded, we may, with propriety, confine our attention to the charge of misbranding.

The information charged that the article was labeled and branded as follows; “Perfection Mills Compound White Pepper,” in large and plain letters, and about one inch thereunder, the following words, to wit: “Composed of Ground White Pepper and Ground Cereals,” in small and inconspicuous type, “so placed upon said label as not to be readily noticed by the purchaser.” The information was demurred [867]*867tp as stating no offense under the act in question or under the laws of the United States. The demurrer was overruled. Thereupon a jury was waived by agreement of counsel.

A trial was had before the court upon an agreed state of facts (except in one particular hereafter mentioned), whereby the defendants, ¡heading not guilty to the charge in the information, admitted the fact of the alleged shipment in interstate commerce, also that the article contained 65 per cent, of ground white pepper, and about 35 per cent, of ground cereals, and that it was labeled, in large type, “Perfection Mills Compound White Pepper” and in smaller type “Composed of Ground White Pepper and Ground Cereals”; also, in substance, the purchase of a sample can by an inspector of the Bureau of Chemistry of the United States Department of Agriculture, its analysis by an analyst of that department, and its possession by the United States District Attorney for use on the trial.

The government admitted on the trial that the words “Composed of Ground White Pepper and Ground Cereals” are in type larger than the size required by regulation 17C of the rules and regulations passed in conformity with the food and drugs act, and that the article of food contained no added ingredients poisonous or deleterious to health. The package was submitted to the court “so as to display the label thereon,” and is returned with the bill of exceptions. The defendants then moved to dismiss the information, and for judgment in their favor, upon the grounds contained in the demurrer to the information. The motion was denied. The trial court held that the label was not in compliance with the law, found the defendants guilty, and imposed a fine of $50.

[1] Upon the argument in this court, defendants urged that the information was improperly filed, and should be dismissed for that reason, upon the authority of United States v. 20 Cases of Grape Juice (C. C. A. 2) 189 Fed. 331, where it was held that in case the district attorney acts solely in pursuance of the report of the Secretary of Agriculture, under sections 4 and 5 of the food and drugs act, the notice and hearing provided by section 4 are conditions precedent to the filing of the information-; such notice and hearing not appearing in this case. It would be enough to say that this proposition is not properly before us from the fact that no motion to dismiss for this reason was presented below, nor is the question raised by any pleading or presented by assignment of error. We do not, however, construe the information as showing that it was filed without investigation by the district attorney, or solely by authority of sections 4 and 5 of the act.

[2-0] The fact that the case was finally heard by the court without a jury raises the question of the effect of the judgment when presented for review. By R. S. § 566 (U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 461), the trial of issues of fact in the District Court is (with certain exceptions not material here) required to be by jury; and section 649 (page 525), which provides for a waiver of jury in the Circuit Court, lias no application to the District Court. The result is that if the offense for which the defendants were tried amounts to a crime, as distinguished [868]*868from a “petty -offense,” it could, under section 2 of article 3 of the Constitution of the United States, be tried only by a jury; and,.if not so tried, the judgment would be a nullity and require reversal. On'the otherhand, if the offense is merely a “petty offense,” the trial under waiver of jury would amount to an arbitration 'as to the questions of fact involved; and it would result that the court’s conclusions of fact could not be reviewed here, and we would have no power to inquire into the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction, nor any question of law arising out of or upon the evidence. United States v. L. & N. R. R. Co. (C. C. A. 6) 167 Fed. 306, 93 C. C. A. 58; Low v. United States (C. C. A. 6), 169 Fed. 86-88, 94 C. C. A. 1; Rogers v. United States, 141 U. S. 548, 12 Sup. Ct. 91, 35 L. Ed. 853.

[6, 7] However, if the submission is upon an agreed state of facts, leaving for determination only a question of law arising thereon, the determination upon that question of law is reviewable. Henderson’s Distilled Spirits, 14 Wall. 44, 20 L. Ed. 815. Counsel agree that the offense here charged is merely a “petty offense.” Construing, as we do, section 2 of the food and drugs act, as providing for no imprisonment for the first offense, but merely for a fine not exceeding $200, we agree with counsel. Callan v. Wilson, 127 U. S. 540, 8 Sup. Ct. 1301, 32 L. Ed. 223; Schick v. United States, 195 U. S. 65, 24 Sup. Ct. 826, 49 L. Ed. 99.

[8] Was the case finally heard solely upon an agreed state of facts, so as to involve only a question of law? We think not. It is true that the case was heard in part upon an “agreed statement of facts,”" the substance of which has been before set out. But this statement contained no reference to the allegations made in the information that the words “composed of ground white pepper and ground cereals” were “in small and inconspicuous type so placed upon said label as not to be readily noticed by the purchaser,” as well as the statement “that the label and branding as above set forth was calculated and intended to deceive and mislead the purchaser thereof.” On the other hand, the package containing the pepper was submitted to the court upon the trial, “so as to -display the label thereon;” and we are unable to determine from the record that the court did not in finding the defendants guilty take into account the relative size and prominence of the type of the letters following the first part of the label, in connection with the allegations in the information relating thereto, and draw inferences of fact therefrom. ' For this reason, we think the final judgment embraced the determination of a question of fact, which is not' reviewable here. But the ruling upon demurrer to the information is still open to review, and its consideration seems to sufficiently present the meritorious question in the case.

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Bluebook (online)
192 F. 864, 113 C.C.A. 188, 1911 U.S. App. LEXIS 4899, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frank-v-united-states-ca6-1911.