United States v. Halseth

Appellee was indicted on eight counts in the District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin for violation of § 213 of the Criminal Code of 1909, 35 Stat. 1129-1130, 18 U. S. C. § 336. The District Court granted appellee’s motion to dismiss the indictment, and the United States appealed directly to this Court, pursuant to 18 U. S. C. (Supp. IV) § 3731. The pertinent provisions of the statute, upon which the indictment was based were as follows:

“No letter, package, postal card, or circular concerning any lottery ... or similar scheme offering prizes dependent in whole or in part upon lot…