Robinson v. California

Robinson (defendant) was convicted under a California statute making narcotics addiction itself a crime, after an officer found needle marks and scars on his arms and Robinson admitted past drug use. The trial judge instructed the jury it could convict Robinson if it found either that he had used narcotics in California or that he was addicted to narcotics, and the jury returned a general guilty verdict without specifying which basis it relied on. The appellate court affirmed, and Robinson sought Supreme Court review.