UNITED STATES v. DOTTERWEICH, 320 U.S. 277

Summary

The company purchased drugs from their manufacturers and shipped them, repacked under its own label, in interstate commerce. The jury found the president and the company guilty for shipping misbranded and adulterated drugs. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and found that the district court properly left the question of the president's responsibility for the shipment to the jury, and there was sufficient evidence to support its verdict. The Supreme Court looked at the legislative history and intent and concluded that the Act enlarged and stiffened the penal net; thus a corporation and/or an individual could be a "person" under the Act. Shipments of misbranded and adulterated drugs are punished by the Act, and thus such shipments do not the immunity of a guaranty under § 303(c) of the Act. Whether the president shared responsibility in the business process resulting in unlawful distribution depended on the evidence produced at the trial and its submission to the jury under ...