United States v. Kirby

A federal statute prohibited obstructing the mail or mail carriers. A Kentucky court indicted Farris, a mail carrier, for murder and issued bench warrants for his arrest. Sheriff Kirby and his posse (defendants) arrested Farris pursuant to those warrants while he was transporting mail between Louisville and Cincinnati. They were then charged with violating the federal statute by obstructing the mail and its carrier. The case was certified to the Supreme Court to decide whether the arrest counted as obstruction under the statute.