United States v. Albertini

United States Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit (1987)

Plaintiff: United States

Defendant: Albertini; the defendant was demonstrating outside of a naval base against a bar order and he was arrested and convicted. The Court of Appeals reversed the conviction on the grounds that under the 1st Amendment, the defendant had the right to demonstrate at the naval base. After being set free, the defendant again went to the naval base to demonstrate and was again arrested. Eventually the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals ruling by ruling that the 1st Amendment did not give the defendant the right to protest at the naval base against a bar order. Now the defendant argued that he can not be charged with the crime the second time even though the Supreme Court had ruled against him, because he demonstrated the second time before the Supreme Court granted certiorari and he was acting under the ruling of the Court of Appeals.

Issue: Should the defendant be charged with crimes which occurred before the Supreme Court declared them illegal?

Holding: No

Legal Reasoning: The court ruled that a person should not be punished for an act which occurred before a law passed making that act illegal. The defendant demonstrated the second time before the Supreme Court had granted certiorari and the defendant had no way of knowing that the Cour of Appeals' decision was going to be reversed. The defendant was acting under the law and it was not his ignorance of the law which made him demonstrate, but it was the law, which was later reversed, which gave defendant the power to demonstrate. The court reversed the conviction.

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