James F. Byrnes

“ The character of what the drivers or owners did and intended to do pay money to avoid a beating-was not altered by the willingness of the payee to accept as wages for services rendered what he in fact intentionally exacted from the driver or owner as the purchase price of immunity from assault, and what he intended so to exact whether the proffered services were accepted or not. It is no answer to say that the guilt of a defendant is personal and cannot be made to depend upon the acts and intention of another. ”

“ For there can be no robbery unless the purpose of the victim in handing over the money is to avoid force. Precisely as under the present statute, the robber's use of force and its intended effect on the victim are essential elements of the crime both of which the prosecutor must prove. ”

“ The government contends, as we have said, that the test is 'whether, under all the circumstances, it appears that the money has been paid for labor or for protection.' If the defendants do not offer to work, or if they refuse to work, or if their offer to work is rejected by the owners, the government argues that any payment made to them must be for protection rather than for services. ”

“ All the counts of the indictment were for conspiracy to violate the statute. The jury was told that to convict it must find conspiracy or agreement by respondents to violate the statute and that they must have the purpose or intention to commit the crime which it defined. As I have said, the intention to commit the offense includes the intention to use force and violence on the victim and the intention that the victim shall pay because of it. ”

“ There is abundant evidence in the record from which the jury could have concluded that respondents, or some of them, conspired to compel by force and violence the truck drivers or their employers to pay the sums of money to respondents or some of them; that the payments were made by the drivers or truck owners to purchase immunity from the violence of respondents and for no other reason ”

“ It may be true that professional rackets have sometimes assumed the guise of labor unions, and, as the Circuit Court of Appeals observed, that they may have 'covered their practices by the pretence that the tribute collected was pay for services rendered.' 118 F.2d 684, 688. And it may also be true that labor organizations of good repute and honest purpose can be misdirected and become agencies of blackmail. Nevertheless, Congress plainly attempted to distinguish militant labor activity from the other and to afford it ample protection. ”

“ Its true significance is that it places an added burden upon the prosecutor rather than upon the accused. That is, the prosecutor must first establish a criminal intent upon the part of the defendant and he must then make a further showing with respect to the victim's state of mind. ”

“ Assuming that this is incorrect and that the exception may affect a defendant who has not been a bona fide employee prior to the time in question, it does not apply if the owner's intention in making the payment is to buy 'protection' and not to buy service, even though the defendant may intend to perform the service or may actually perform it. ”

“ This does not mean that such activities are beyond the reach of federal legislative control. Nor does it mean that they need go unpunished. The power of state and local authorities to punish acts of violence is beyond question. It is not diminished or affected by the circumstance that the violence may be the outgrowth of a labor dispute. The use of violence disclosed by this record is plainly subject to the ordinary criminal law. ”

“ As the purpose of the legislation is not to interfere with such legitimate activities but rather to set up severe penalties for racketeering by violence, extortion, or coercion, which affects interstate commerce, it seems advisable to definitely exclude such legitimate activities. ”