United States v. Smith
Supreme Court of the United States
This was an indictment for piracy against the prisoner Thomas Smith, before the Circuit Court of Virginia, on the act of Congress, of the 3d of March, 1819, c. 76.a The jury found a special verdict as follows: u We, of the jury, find, that the prisoner, Thomas Smith, in the month of March, 1819,and others, were part of the crew of a private armed vessel, called the .Creollo, (commissioned by the government of Buenos Ayres, a •colony then at war .with Spain,) and lying in the…
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This was an indictment for piracy against the prisoner Thomas Smith, before the Circuit Court of Virginia, on the act of Congress, of the 3d of March, 1819, c. 76.a The jury found a special verdict as follows: u We, of the jury, find, that the prisoner, Thomas Smith, in the month of March, 1819,and others, were part of the crew of a private armed vessel, called the .Creollo, (commissioned by the government of Buenos Ayres, a •colony then at war .with Spain,) and lying in the port of Margaritta : that in the month of March, 1819, the said prisoner and others of .the crew mutinied, confined…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Story
The act of Congress upon which this indictment is founded provides, “ that if any person or persons whatsoever, shall, upon the high seas, commit the crime of piracy, as defined by the law of nations, and such offender or offenders shall be brought into,, or found in the United States, every such offender or offenders shall, upon conviction thereof, &c. be punished with death.”
*158THe first point made at the bar is, whether this enactment be a constitutional exercise of the authority delegated to Congress, upon the subject of piracies. The constitution.declares, that Congress shall, have power “…
2Cited by179 opinions
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- Sosa v. Alvarez-MachainSupreme Court of the United States · 2004
- Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co.Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 2010
- United States v. TurleySupreme Court of the United States · 1957
- Ex Parte QuirinSupreme Court of the United States · 1942
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