Marcello v. Bonds, 349 U.S. 302 (1955)

Justice Clark's opinion upholding the order to deport Carlos Marcello, 'a native of Tunis, Africa,' under the 1952 immigration act on the basis of his 1938 Marihuana Tax Act conviction, and rejecting his Administrative Procedure Act claim. Justices Black and Douglas dissented.

Date: 1955-05-31
Kind: court-opinion
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, via CourtListener
Retrieved: 2026-10-12
Docket: No. 145
Rights: A federal court opinion. A work of the United States government, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. The text was read on CourtListener; no publisher headnote is used.

The Supreme Court’s opinion (argued 21-22 April 1955, decided 31 May 1955) describes Marcello as “a native of Tunis, Africa,” ordered deported under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 on the basis of his 1938 conviction under the Marihuana Tax Act. It rejects his claim that the Administrative Procedure Act governed the hearing and affirms. Justices Black and Douglas dissented. Lower-court citations printed in the opinion are 113 F. Supp. 22 and 212 F.2d 830.

An FBI headquarters memo summarizing the decision is in Part 01 of the Marcello file in the FBI Vault (about page 69 of the viewer text). Only the opinion text was used, not a publisher’s headnote.

itemMarcello v. Kennedy, 312 F.2d 874 (D.C. Cir. 1962)The D.C. Circuit's opinion on Marcello's suit over his removal to Guatemala on 4 April 1961; it recites that he had re-entered the United States by June 1961 when a criminal prosecution had begun, and directs dismissal of the complaint.

itemFBI Vault: Carlos Marcello, Part 01 of 03 (1955 to 1989)The first part of the FBI's released file on Carlos Marcello: a 1955 headquarters memo on Marcello v. Bonds, 1956-57 hoodlum-coverage memoranda from New Orleans, April-June 1961 memoranda on his removal to Guatemala and surrender in New Orleans, and 1989 reports from Rochester, Minnesota on his release.