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Criminal Law Keyed to Kadish
United States v. Dotterweich
Citation:
320 U.S. 277 (1943)Facts
Buffalo Pharmacal Company was a drug jobber that purchased drugs from manufacturers and shipped them, repacked under its own label, in interstate commerce. Joseph Dotterweich served as the president and general manager of the company. The company and Dotterweich were charged with violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by shipping adulterated and misbranded drugs in interstate commerce. There was no evidence that Dotterweich personally participated in the specific transactions or had knowledge of the shipments in question. The prosecution was based solely on his position of authority within the corporation. The jury found Dotterweich guilty on all three counts while failing to reach a verdict regarding the corporation’s guilt.
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