Case brief summary
When a criminal law does not mention a guilty state of mind, courts should not assume Congress meant to remove that requirement, especially for crimes that come from old common law categories like theft.
Facts
Morissette collected spent bomb casings from a government practice bombing range, believing they were abandoned junk, and sold them for $84, openly and without hiding what he did.
Procedural history
Morissette was convicted in federal trial court of violating a law against stealing or knowingly converting government property, and the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the conviction.
Issue
Does the federal law against knowingly converting government property require proof that the person meant to do something wrong, and can a judge tell the jury to assume that intent just because the person took the property?
Holding
The law does require proof of a guilty state of mind, and the trial judge was wrong to tell the jury it could presume that intent simply from the act of taking the property, so the conviction is reversed.
Reasoning
Theft crimes have always required proof that the person intended to do wrong. Congress gave no sign it wanted to drop that requirement for this offense.
Opinions
Majority (Jackson): Criminal intent is required for this offense and the jury, not the judge, must decide whether that intent existed based on all the evidence.
Concurrences (Douglas): Agreed only with the final outcome of reversing the conviction, without joining the Court's reasoning.
Dissent: None, though Justice Minton did not take part in the decision.