Sherman Antitrust Act

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act declares that any contract, such as a trust or a conspiracy, designed to place restraints on trade or commerce with states or foreign nations is illegal. The section goes on to proclaim that any person in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act will be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine not to exceed $5,000, or both.

Section 2 mirrors Section 1 and indicates that any monopoly designed to restrain trade or commerce is considered illegal. Any person who monopolizes, attempts to monopolize, or conspires to monopolize trade or commerce among the states or with foreign nations is also guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine not to exceed $5,000, or both.

Section 3 builds on the two previous sections of the act by specifying that any trust or restraint of trade within any territory of the United States or the District of Columbia, or between U.S. territories, states, foreign nations, and the District of Columbia in any combination is illegal and is punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine not to exceed $5,000, or both.

Section 4 outlines the enforcement procedures of the act. In this section, circuit courts are given jurisdiction over Sherman Antitrust Act violations. Further, U.S. district attorneys, under the oversight of the attorney general, are charged with beginning proceedings to address violations by issuing a petition outlining the violation or violations. Once the company in question has been notified that a petition has been issued against it, a hearing is held to determine the case. Once a petition is pending, the court can place temporary restraining orders or other limits on the company until the case has been heard and decided.

Section 5 authorizes the court to subpoena anyone for an antitrust case and require the individual to appear before the court regardless of whether the person resides in the hearing court's district. It is the duty of the individual's district marshal to serve the subpoena.

Section 6 calls for any property owned by a trust and being transported from one state to another state or a foreign nation to be surrendered to the federal government. The actual forfeiture or seizure of any such property is to follow the laws pertaining to any property imported illegally into the United States.

Section 7 allows for any person whose business or property has been injured or damaged by a person or company engaging in any act outlawed by the Sherman Antitrust Act to sue the violator in any circuit court in the district where the defendant lives or is located. The section goes on to state that if the defendant is found guilty, then the plaintiff will be awarded three times the damages he sustained as well as all court and attorney fees.

Section 8 defines the use of the terms person and persons within the text of the act to include corporations and associations existing under the laws of the United States, territories, individual states, or foreign countries.