''Samuels v. McCurdy'', 267 U.S. 188 (1925), was a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...
case regarding the application of ''
ex post facto'' in the case where an object was legally purchased and possessed, but was then later banned by statute.
Background
In 1917, Georgia's
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
law became effective prior to federal prohibition with the
Eighteenth Amendment. Sig Samuels legally purchased alcohol for personal use prior to the ban which the
DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb:
* DeKalb County, Alabama
* DeKalb County, Georgia
* DeKalb County, Illinois
* DeKalb County, Indiana
* DeKalb County, Missou ...
Sheriff seized with a valid search warrant after the law became effective.
[.] Samuels sued for a return of his property for violating his
due process
Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pe ...
. He also claimed the law was being applied in an ''ex post facto'' fashion because consumption per se was not forbidden by Georgia's law.
Opinion of the Court
The court found that ''ex post facto'' does not apply, because possession is an ongoing condition.
See also
*
List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 267
This is a list of cases reported in volume 267 of ''United States Reports'', decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1925.
Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 267 U.S.
The Supreme Court is established by A ...
References
External links
*
{{Prohibition
1925 in United States case law
United States Constitution Article One case law
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Taft Court
Legal history of Georgia (U.S. state)
United States ex post facto case law
Prohibition in the United States
United States due process case law
DeKalb County, Georgia
United States Eighteenth Amendment case law