Stack v. Boyle

Stack v. Boyle
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 18, 1951 Decided November 5, 1951
Full case name	Loretta Starvus Stack, et al. v. James J. Boyle, United States Marshal
Citations	342 U.S. 1 (more) 342 U.S. 1, 72 S.Ct. 1, 96 L.Ed. 3
Holding
Bail had been set unusually high for the defendants since there was no evidence that they would flee before the trial date, and was therefore in violation of their Eight Amendment rights.
Court membership
Case opinions
Majority	Vinson
Laws applied
U.S. Const. Amend. VIII; Smith Act

Stack v. Boyle, 342 U.S. 1 (1951), was a United States Supreme Court case involving the arrest of members of the Communist Party who were charged with conspiring to violate the Smith Act. The case regards the Eighth Amendment issue of excessive bail.

The District Court had set bail at the fixed amount of $50,000 for each of the petitioners. This was an amount greater than that used with other serious crimes. The defendants moved to reduce bail, claiming that it was “excessive” under the Eighth Amendment. The defendants were detained in the custody of appellee, United States Marshal James J. Boyle.

In 1951, 12 members of the Communist Party were arrested in the Southern District of California. Upon their arrest and on motion of the government to increase bail in the case of other petitioners, bail was fixed in the District Court for the Southern District of California at $50,000 for each person. The petitioners then moved to reduce bail under the Eighth Amendment, claiming that it was excessive. In support of their motion, petitioners submitted statements as to their financial resources, family relationships, health, prior criminal records, and other information. The only evidence offered by the government was a record showing that four persons previously convicted under the Smith Act in the Southern District of New York had forfeited bail. Their request was denied. The petitioners then filed the same issue under habeas corpus in the same 9th District Court, whereupon their petition was further dismissed. Finally, a request for certiorari was filed with the Supreme Court of the United States and granted.

In the 1950s the United States experienced what is known as the Second Red Scare which lasted roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s, during the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. During this period, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy led anti—communist investigations which included making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason; thousands of citizens were accused of being Communists or Communist sympathizers and became the subject of unlawful investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies. Most of these accusations were unfounded and had very little evidence to support them. Nonetheless, hundreds of people lost their jobs and/or destruction of their careers; some even suffered imprisonment and other violations of civil liberties. The Smith Act, also known as the Alien Registration Act was a 1940 act that set criminal penalties for “advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government” and required all non-citizen adult residents to register with the government.