United States v. Koplik
U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Southern New York
On Indictment for Receiving in Pledge Soldiers’ Clothing. The defendant, Charles Koplik, was a member of a firm conducting a pawnbroking business in the city of New York. He was indicted under section 5438 of the Revised Statutes [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 3674] for having at his place of business knowingly received in pledge, from a soldier stationed at Ft Schuyler, N. Y., an olive drab overcoat which the soldier did not have the right to pledge or sell.
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On Indictment for Receiving in Pledge Soldiers’ Clothing. The defendant, Charles Koplik, was a member of a firm conducting a pawnbroking business in the city of New York. He was indicted under section 5438 of the Revised Statutes [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 3674] for having at his place of business knowingly received in pledge, from a soldier stationed at Ft Schuyler, N. Y., an olive drab overcoat which the soldier did not have the right to pledge or sell. The transaction was admitted by the defendant, bis version of the occurrence being: That the soldier came into the pawnbroking…
1Opinion of the CourtChatfield, District Judge
(the facts having appeared by the testimony substantially as above), charged the jury as follows: The province of a juror is not a simple one. The decision upon questions of fact is not of itself easy, but, when these questions that are laid before you are involved with interpretations of law, the government asking the jury to try to assume what its ideas may be as to the aspect of a certain statute or certain law, while the defendant tries throughout the case to have the jury understand that the law is to be construed in a different way, which he claims the court will charge, when later the…
2Cited by3 opinions
- Bolland v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 1916
- United States v. StarkeyDistrict Court, E.D. Illinois · 1943
- Ontai v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1911