United States v. Miller

Richard Miller (defendant) operated the Miller Recreation Parlor (parlor) in Gary, Indiana, from which he ran a baseball gambling pool in violation of Indiana law. Fenton Bash and Samuel Woods (defendants) operated the Club Poolroom (club) in Gary, from which they too ran an illegal baseball gambling pool. Both the parlor and club used information conveyed from Chicago, Illinois, via Western Union tickertape in connection with their gambling operations. Bash and Woods admitted that the tickertape was a convenience in computing results. In two separate trials, Miller and Bash and Woods were convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1952, which made it a federal crime to use an instrumentality of interstate commerce to facilitate illegal gambling knowingly, willfully, or intentionally. Miller, Bash, and Woods appealed, arguing that the prosecution was required to show they intended to violate federal law; in other words, they argued that their ignorance of § 1952 and resultant lack of intent to violate it was a valid defense. Bash and Woods further argued that they were not guilty because (1) they did not personally use the tickertape even if they could be found to be responsible for its installation and presence at the club and (2) the tickertape did not facilitate their gambling operation because they could have operated the pool without it.