Jake King v. Honorable Rogers C. B. Morton, Secretary of the Interior of the United States

This case raises the question whether the guarantees of jury trial as embodied in our Constitution are applicable to the territory of American Samoa. After assuring that jurisdiction is proper, I answer that question affirmatively.

I. Background

On January '3, 1972, appellant Jake King, an American citizen, was charged by information in the Trial Division of the High Court of American Samoa with willful failure to pay Samoan income tax and to file an income tax return with the Tax Office of Samoa in violation of section 7203 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as adopted by…