## Facts

- Richard Miller operated the Miller Recreation Parlor in Gary, Indiana; Fenton Bash and Samuel Woods operated the Club Poolroom in Gary, Indiana.
- Defendants conducted gambling operations based on professional baseball results, unlawful under Indiana law.
- Each establishment used a Western Union tickertape transmitting baseball information from Chicago, Illinois, to Gary, Indiana.
- At the Club Poolroom, the tickertape was used as a convenience in computing results for the baseball pool.
- The United States charged defendants under 18 U.S.C. § 1952 (Travel Act) for using a facility in interstate commerce with intent to promote, manage, carry on, or facilitate an unlawful gambling business.
- Miller was tried separately; Bash and Woods were tried together; all were convicted in the Northern District of Indiana and appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether 18 U.S.C. § 1952 requires proof that the defendant specifically intended to use an interstate facility or intended to violate federal law.
2. Whether the Western Union tickertape constituted “use of a facility in interstate commerce” that facilitated illegal gambling, including as to defendants who did not personally operate the device.
3. Whether lack of knowledge of § 1952 or intent to violate only state law negates Travel Act liability.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit affirmed all convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 1952.
- The court held that the interstate-facility component is a jurisdictional element; no specific intent is required regarding the interstate character or the use of the facility.
- The court rejected ignorance of § 1952 and intent-to-violate-only-state-law arguments as defenses.
- The court concluded the tickertape’s interstate transmission and its use in the gambling operation satisfied § 1952, and it was enough that it made the operation more convenient even if the pool could have operated without it.

## Legal Principles

- Under 18 U.S.C. § 1952, the use of a facility in interstate commerce is a necessary jurisdictional element, and the government need not prove a specific mental state as to that use.
- A defendant may be convicted under § 1952 by knowingly engaging in the underlying unlawful activity and, in fact, using an interstate facility to promote or facilitate it, even if the defendant did not intend to violate federal law.
- A facility “facilitates” an unlawful activity if it materially aids the operation (including by providing convenience or efficiency); indispensability is not required.
- Responsibility for use of an interstate facility may be established where the facility is maintained and used at the defendant’s business in furtherance of the unlawful enterprise, even without personal operation of the device.

## Conclusion

The Seventh Circuit sustained Travel Act gambling convictions based on interstate tickertape transmissions, holding that the interstate-facility requirement is jurisdictional and does not demand proof that defendants specifically intended interstate use or knew they were committing a federal offense.


United States v. Miller, 379 F.2d 483 (7th Cir. 1967)