Mr. Sweezy

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Charge:	Criminal Contempt
Sentence:	Exonerated After Conviction But Prior to Sentencing
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	1954
Year Convicted:	1954
Year Cleared:	1957
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New Hampshire
County or Region of Crime:	Merrimack
City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Mr. Sweezy was a Marxist economist and the founding editor of the Monthly Review wrongly convicted of contempt in 1954 after refused to answer particular questions related to his connections to socialists and communists when he was subpoenaed by New Hampshire's state Attorney General who was conducting an investigation into subversion. After Sweezy was found in contempt of court by the Merrimack County Superior Court, he was freed on $1,000 bond, pending appeal. The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed his conviction. The U.S. Supreme Court accepted certiorari. On June 17, 1957 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Sweezy's conviction in a majority decision. The Court's ruling stated: "The ultimate question here is whether the investigation deprived Sweezy of due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment. For the reasons to be set out in this opinion, we conclude that the record in this case does not sustain the power of the State to compel the disclosures that the witness refused to make.""
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On June 17, 1957 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Sweezy's conviction in a majority decision."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 US 234 (USSC, 1957) (Reversing contempt conviction)"
Information Location 1:	https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10026374859124601238&q=communist+1957+conviction&hl=en&as_sdt=40006
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Mr. Sweezy

Charge:

Criminal Contempt

Sentence:

Exonerated After Conviction But Prior to Sentencing

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1954

Year Convicted:

1954

Year Cleared:

1957

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New Hampshire

County or Region of Crime:

Merrimack

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On June 17, 1957 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Sweezy's conviction in a majority decision."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 US 234 (USSC, 1957) (Reversing contempt conviction)"

Information Location 1:

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10026374859124601238&q=communist+1957+conviction&hl=en&as_sdt=40006

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