Majority White | End date 1895 | |
Full case name Coffin, et al. v. United States Citations 156 U.S. 432 (more)
15 S. Ct. 394 Ruling court Supreme Court of the United States Similar Woolmington v DPP, United States v Salerno, Duncan v Louisiana, Gideon v Wainwright | ||
Coffin v. United States, 156 U.S. 432 (1895), was an appellate case before the United States Supreme Court in 1895 which established the presumption of innocence of persons accused of crimes.
F. A. Coffin and Percival B. Coffin, plaintiffs in error, and A. S. Reed had been charged with aiding and abetting the former president of the Indianapolis National Bank, Theodore P. Haughey, in misdemeanor bank fraud between January 1, 1891, and July 26, 1893.
It is a complex case with a 50 count indictment. But the most interesting aspect is commentary by the Court regarding presumption of innocence:
In the decision, the Court then goes on to detail the complete legal history of presumed innocence.
References
Coffin v. United States Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA