United States v. Feola

Mr. Justice Stewart, with whom Mr. Justice Douglas joins,

dissenting.

Does an assault on a federal officer violate 18 U. S. C. § 1111 even when the assailant is unaware, and has no reason to know, that the victim is other than a private citizen or, indeed, a confederate in crime? This important question, never decided by the Court, is squarely presented in a petition for certiorari that has been pending here for many months: No. 73-6868, Fernandez v. *697United States.2 But this question was not contained in the petition for certiorari in the present case, and has not been addressed in either the…