Bersio v. United Sates’s Empirical Analysis
124 F.2d 310 · 1941
Citation profile
17 federal appellate · 4 district · 1 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 24 later decisions — most recently June 1988
17 federal appellate · 4 district · 1 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 18 U.S.C. § 502
Relies on Connally v. General Construction Co. · Hagner v. United States · Whitney v. People of State of California · United States v. Balint · Ledbetter v. United States
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 24 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““The question then comes down to this: Was the evidence sufficient to establish intent ‘to injure or endanger the safety of the vessel’? We think that it was. In this connection, we think it clear that the language of the statute is properly interpreted as requiring intent to injure the vessel or endanger her safety; for no one speaks of injuring the safety of an object. Such interpretation is seen to be manifestly correct if the words, ‘or endanger the safety of’, be set off by commas; and the subsequent phrase of the section, ‘whether the injury or danger is so intended to take place within the jurisdiction of the United States, or after the vessel shall have departed therefrom’, shows clearly that what was contemplated as embraced within the prescribed intent was injury itself as well as danger or the impairment of safety. * * * “ * * * We have carefully considered Judge Paul’s opinion to the contrary in United States v. Saglietto, D.C., 41 F.Supp. 21 , but we are not convinced by it. We think that it does not give sufficient scope to the phrase of the section ‘whether the injury or danger is so intended to take place within the jurisdiction of the United States, or after the vessel shall have departed therefrom.’ ””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority““AH the acts named, whether done or attempted or conspired about, must be with ‘intent to injure or endanger the safety of the vessel, or of her cargo, or of persons on board.’ There is in this specification of intent plainly an ellipsis, words left out, to be supplied from the context. The word ‘injure’ is a transitive verb, requiring an object, but none immediately follows it. Is its object to be taken to be the noun ‘safety’ in the phrase ‘endanger the safety’, or are the nouns ‘vessel’, ‘cargo’ and ‘persons’ the objects meant? ‘Endanger the safety’ is a common expression to signify jeopardy without actual injury inflicted. ‘Injure the safety’ is a most unusual expression, injury being commonly affirmed as done to a person or a concrete thing. We think the natural meaning fully expressed is this: ‘With intent to injure the vessel, her cargo, or persons on board, or to endanger the safety of the vessel, or of her cargo, or of persons on board.’ If in interpreting a criminal statute we may regard its legislative evolution, we will find confirmation of this interpretation.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.