75TH CONGRESS, 1sT SESSION-CH . 598-AUGUST 12, 1937
627 [CHAPTER 59 8] AN ACT August 12, 1937 To increase the punishment of second, third, and subsequent offenders against the [n .R . 62931 nar cotic law s .
[Public, No . 2671 Be it enacted by the Senate and House o f Representatives o f the United States of America in Congress assembled, That a person who, after having been convicted of selling, importing, or exporting, or conspiring to sell, import, or export, opium, coca leaves, cocaine, or any salt, derivative, or preparation of opium, coca leaves, or cocaine, again sells, imports, or exports, or conspires to sell, import, or export, any of the said narcotic drugs, in violation of the laws of the United States, s hall, upon convicti on of such second of fense, be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned in a Federal penitentiary for not more than ten years , or both, in the d iscretion of the cou rt, whenever the fa ct of such previous conviction is established in the manner prescribed in section 3 of this Act . SEC. 2. A person who, after having been two times convicted of selling, importing, or exporting, or conspiring to sell, import, or export, opium, coca leaves, cocaine, or any salt, derivative, or prepara- tion of opiu m, coca leaves, or cocaine, again sells , imports, or expor ts or conspi res to sell, import , or export, any of the said narcotic d rugs, in violation of the laws of the United States, shall, upon conviction of such third offense, or any offense subsequent thereto, be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned in a Federal penitentiary for not more than twenty years, or both, in the discretion of the court, when- ever the fact of such previous convictions is established in the manner prescribed in section 3 of this Act . SEc .3 . Whenever it shall appear, after conviction and before or after sentence, that a person convicted of unlawfully selling, import- ing, or exporting, or conspiring unlawfully to sell, import, or export, any of the narcot ic drugs e numerated in this Ac t has prev iously been convicted of unlawfully selling, importing, or exporting, or conspir- ing unlawfully to sell, import, or export, any of said narcotic drugs, in violation of the laws of the United States, it shall be the duty of the United States district attorney for the district in which such subsequent conviction was had to file an information alleging that the def endant has previousl y been so convicted, and furth er alleging the number of such previous convictions . The court in which the defendant was convicted shall cause the said defendant, whether confined in prison or otherwise, to appear before it and shall apprise him of the allegations of the information and of his right to a trial by jury as to the truth thereof . The court shall inquire of the defendant whether he is the person who has previously been convicted . If the defendant states he is not such person, or if he refuses to answer or remains silent, a plea of not guilty shall be entered by the court, and a jury shall be empaneled to determine whether the defendant is the person alleged in the information to have previously been convicted, and the number of such previous convictions . If after a trial on the sole issue of the truth of such allegations the jury determines that the defendant is in fact the person previously con- victed as charged in the information, or if he acknowledges in open court, after being duly cautioned as to his rights, that he is such person, he shall be punished as prescribed in sections 1 or 2 of this Act, as the case may be, and th e previous sentence of the court, if an y, shall be vacated and there shall be deducted from the new sentence the amo unt of tim e actually served un der the se ntence so vacated . Approved, August 12, 1937 . Narcotic laws . Punishment for vio- lations of. Second offense ; fine, imprisonment . Third offense . Method by which previous conviction brought before court . Procedure . 0
