![OliverEllsworth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/OliverEllsworth.jpg)
The Crimes Act of 1790 (or the Federal Criminal Code of 1790), formally titled ''An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes Against the United States'', defined some of the first
federal crimes in the United States and expanded on the
criminal procedure
Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or ...
provisions of the
Judiciary Act of 1789
The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, ) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. Article III, Secti ...
.
[Taylor, 2010, at 889.] The Crimes Act was a "comprehensive statute defining an impressive variety of federal crimes".
[Currie, 1994, at 828.]
As an enactment of the
First Congress, the Crimes Act is often regarded as a quasi-constitutional text. The punishment of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
,
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
,
counterfeiting, as well as crimes committed on the
high seas
The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regiona ...
or against the
law of nations
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
, followed from relatively explicit constitutional authority. The creation of crimes within areas under exclusive federal jurisdiction followed from the plenary power of Congress over the "
Seat of the Government",
federal enclave
In United States law, a federal enclave is a parcel of federal property within a state that is under the "Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States". In 1960, the year of the latest comprehensive inquiry, 7% of federal pr ...
s, and
federal territories
A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constit ...
. The creation of crimes involving the integrity of the judicial process derived from Congress's authority to establish such courts.
The Crimes Act also established a
statute of limitations
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...
for federal crimes, provided for criminal
venue
Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to:
Locations
* Venue (law), the place a case is heard
* Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur
* Music venue, place used for a concer ...
, ensured procedural protections for treason and capital defendants, simplified the pleading requirements for
perjury
Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
, and provided protections broader than those in the Constitution against "
corruption of blood". Further, the act provided for punitive
dissection
Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...
of murderers and codified
diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country. .
Background
Even after the passage of the
Judiciary Act of 1789
The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, ) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. Article III, Secti ...
, "the definition of crimes and the establishment of punishments" remained a "missing link of the criminal system".
[, 1985, at 7.] The Judiciary Act of 1789 divided original jurisdiction for the trial of federal crimes between the
district courts and the
circuit courts. The district courts were given jurisdiction over all federal crimes "where no other punishment than whipping, not exceeding thirty stripes, a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, is to be inflicted". The circuit courts were given concurrent jurisdiction over these crimes, and exclusive jurisdiction over all other federal crimes.
[Judiciary Act of 1789, § 11, 1 Stat. 73, 78–79.] The circuit courts also exercised appellate jurisdiction over the district courts,
but only in civil cases.
The Judiciary Act of 1789 also placed the responsibility for prosecuting federal crimes in the
United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...
for each
federal judicial district. The Act provided that "there shall be appointed in each district" a "person learned in the law to act as attorney for the United States in such district, who shall be sworn or affirmed to the faithful execution of his office, whose duty it shall be to prosecute in such district all delinquents for crimes and offences, cognizable under the authority of the United States."
Prior to the Crimes Act, Congress had passed very few federal crimes.
Among Congress's earlier criminal statutes were:
*The renewal of the
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...
, which authorized the executive to adopt state law within the
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
; and
*A prohibition on unloading ships in the dark or without a license, as well as customs bribery and false statements; and
*A prohibition on census takers failing to report their findings.
Drafting
The Senate passed an act to define a variety of federal crimes on August 31, 1789, but the House did not act on that bill.
Like the
Judiciary Act of 1789
The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, ) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. Article III, Secti ...
and the
Process Act of 1789, the Crimes Act was primarily authored by Senator (and future Chief Justice)
Oliver Ellsworth
Oliver Ellsworth (April 29, 1745 – November 26, 1807) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, jurist, politician, and diplomat. Ellsworth was a framer of the United States Constitution, United States senator from Connecticut ...
as the chair of the Senate committee. The committee examined the state criminal laws of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina at the beginning of the drafting process. The Crimes Act generated "little reported debate" on the floor of Congress.
The act was passed on April 30, 1790.
Crimes established
Due to the seriousness of the authorized sentences, under the
Judiciary Act of 1789
The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, ) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. Article III, Secti ...
, original jurisdiction for the trial of all of the crimes created by the Crimes Act would have rested with the
circuit courts; none of the crimes created could have been tried in the
district courts.
Treason
Article Three provides that: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted."
[ art. III, § 3.]
As to
misprision of treason
Misprision of treason is an offence found in many common law jurisdictions around the world, having been inherited from English law. It is committed by someone who knows a treason is being or is about to be committed but does not report it to a p ...
, according to
David P. Currie, because "
e Constitution said nothing of this offense", "the legislators must have interpreted the narrow definition of treason in Article III not to preclude it from creating lesser related offenses that might otherwise fall within federal purview—although nothing in the misprision provision suggested that Congress had yet considered the possible impact of the Treason Clause on its efforts to punish seditious expression."
Piracy and the high seas
Article One provides that Congress shall have the power "
define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas".
[ art. I, § 8, cl. 10.] Five sections in the Crimes Act "were devoted to the subject".
[Dickinson, 1924, at 343.] Currie notes that the various piracy offenses "take an exceedingly broad view of what constituted piracy", but that "
om a constitutional standpoint no harm was done, since all of the acts punished were felonious and Congress's power extended to all felonies on the high seas."
"The principal provisions with respect to piracy were incorporated in section 8."
Section 8 applied not only to the "high Seas", but also to "any river, haven, basin, or bay, out of the jurisdiction of any particular State". Currie notes a variety of constitutional theories which Congress might have espoused in order to justify this provision: "Whether Congress thought authority over such places included within the ostensibly narrower term 'high Seas', necessary and proper to the regulation of commerce or to the exercise of admiralty jurisdiction, or implicit in a central government responsible for external affairs is not clear."
[Currie, 1994, at 832.]
Currie also argues that the phrase "offence, which, if committed within the body of a county, would, by laws of the United States, be punishable with death" is vague. He suggests that it could refer to any federal law, to any state or federal law, or only to federal laws applicable to places under exclusive federal jurisdiction.
Counterfeiting
Article One provides that Congress shall have the power "
provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States." Currie argues that section 14's somewhat broad reading of the word "Securities" is fair enough.
[Currie, 1994, at 832.] Currie suggests that "
thing was said of counterfeiting coins" because the
United States Mint
The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...
had not yet been established.
Some members of the House, including
Theodore Sedgwick
Theodore Sedgwick (May 9, 1746January 24, 1813) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served in elected state government and as a delegate to the Continental Congress, a U.S. representative, and a senator from Massachusetts. H ...
of Massachusetts, spoke against the prescribing death penalty for counterfeiting, viewing it as too harsh.
Crimes against the law of nations
Article One provides that Congress shall have the power "
define and punish ... Offenses against the Law of Nations."
According to Currie: "No reliance on inherent on implied powers over foreign affairs was necessary to justify" sections 26 and 28 as each "plausibly described" offenses against the
law of nations
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
.
[Currie, 1994, at 833.] Congress had also created a civil offense against the law of nations in the
Alien Tort Statute
The Alien Tort Statute ( codified in 1948 as ; ATS), also called the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), is a section in the United States Code that gives federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits filed by foreign nationals for torts committed in vi ...
of the Judiciary Act of 1789.
Exclusive federal jurisdiction
Several offenses were limited to acts committed in places "under the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the United States". Such regulations would have applied in the "
Seat of the Government",
federal enclave
In United States law, a federal enclave is a parcel of federal property within a state that is under the "Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States". In 1960, the year of the latest comprehensive inquiry, 7% of federal pr ...
s, and
federal territories
A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constit ...
.
Article One provides that Congress shall have the power "
exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings." And
Article Four provides that "Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory ..."
With reference to the "arms, ordnance, munition, shot, powder, or habiliments of war belonging to the United States" provision of section 16, Currie argues that it could have been justified under Congress's Article One power to "raise and support armies" or Congress's Article Four power to make needful rules respecting "property belonging to the United States".
In ''
United States v. Bevans'' (1818), although the defendant had only been charged under § 8 of the Crimes Act, Chief Justice Marshall proceeded to consider whether the offense would have been cognizable under § 3. Following the canon of
''noscitur a sociis'', Marshall interpreted the jurisdictional phrase "any fort, arsenal, dockyard, magazine, or in any other place, or district of country" to be limited to places that are "fixed and territorial" (i.e. not to include a navy vessel).
;Crimes against persons
Integrity of the judicial process
The constitutional authorization of these crimes was less explicit, but
Article One does provide that Congress shall have the power "
constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court." According to Currie:
According to Stacy and Dayton, these provision are "compelling evidence that the founders did not intend the national role in criminal law to be limited to crimes expressly mentioned in the Constitution".
Criminal procedure
Statute of limitations
Section 32 provided for the following
statutes of limitations: no statute of limitations for wilful murder or forgery; no statute of limitations for fugitives from justice; three (3) years for capital offenses (other than wilful murder and forgery); two (2) years for non-capital offenses. In ''United States v. Cook'' (1872), the Court held that indictments need not plead facts establishing that these limitations periods have not run.
Venue
Section 8 provided that "the trial of crimes committed on the high seas, or in any place out of the jurisdiction of any particular State, shall be in the district where the offender is apprehended, or into which he may first be brought". Thus, section 8 was an exercise of Congress's authority under
Article Three to define criminal
venue
Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to:
Locations
* Venue (law), the place a case is heard
* Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur
* Music venue, place used for a concer ...
for all crimes "not committed within any State". But, the Supreme Court did not interpret section 8 as exercising the full extent of Congress's authority under Article Three. In ''
Ex parte Bollman'' (1807), the Court held that the statutory term "any place out of the jurisdiction of any particular state" applied only to "any river, haven, bason or bay, not within the jurisdiction of any particular state", and only in "those cases there is no court which has particular cognizance of the crime".
Treason and capital cases
The Crimes Act prescribed death as the exclusive punishment for the crimes of treason, counterfeiting, wilful murder, and aiding the escape of a death row prisoner, as well as piracy, murder, and robbery on the high seas.
Section 29 provided treason and capital defendants a right to a copy of the indictment, a list of the jury (and, in treason cases, witnesses), appointed counsel, and compulsory process:
Most of the provisions of section 29 are plainly similar to those of the
Sixth Amendment, namely the Information Clause, the
Assistance of Counsel Clause
The Assistance of Counsel Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: ''"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right...to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."''
The assistance of counse ...
, and the
Compulsory Process Clause
The Compulsory Process Clause within the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution lets criminal case defendants attain witnesses in their favor by way of a court-ordered subpoena. The Clause is generally interpreted as letting defendants ...
. The Sixth Amendment (and the remainder of the
Bill of Rights
A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...
) had not yet been ratified at the time of the Crimes Act's passage.
Section 30 provided treason and capital defendants with
peremptory challenge
In American and Australian law, the right of peremptory challenge is a right in jury selection for the attorneys to reject a certain number of potential jurors without stating a reason. Other potential jurors may be challenged for cause, i.e. by ...
s and provided for a plea of not guilty in the case that the defendant refused to enter a plea:
In ''United States v. Shackleford'' (1855), the Court held that the section 30's allocation of peremptory challenges controlled, rather than an 1840 statute that required federal jury selection to generally follow state law (and, thus, the prosecutor was given no peremptory challenges in such cases). Ten years later, Congress abrogated ''Shackleford'', granting prosecutors five peremptory challenges in treason and capital cases (and two in non-capital felony cases); the 1865 act left the defendant's number of peremptory challenges unchanged.
[Act of March 3, 1865, ch. 86, § 2, 13 Stat. 500, 500.]
Section 31 eliminated the
benefit of clergy
In English law, the benefit of clergy (Law Latin: ''privilegium clericale'') was originally a provision by which clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, ...
for capital crimes. Section 33 designated the means of execution as "hanging ... by the neck until dead".
Perjury indictments
![John Waller in pillory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/John_Waller_in_pillory.JPG)
Section 19, applicable to perjury prosecutions under section 18, provided that
and section 20 provided that
Sentencing
Section 24 provided that "no conviction or judgment of any of the offences aforesaid, shall work
corruption of blood, or any forfeiture of estate". This generalized the guarantee of
Article Three that "no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted".
The Crimes Act made no provision for the creation of
federal prisons
A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...
. Instead, a September 21, 1789
concurrent resolution
A concurrent resolution is a resolution (a legislative measure) adopted by both houses of a bicameral legislature that lacks the force of law (is non-binding) and does not require the approval of the chief executive (president). Concurrent resolut ...
asked the state legislatures to authorize their prisons to imprison federal prisoners.
[, 1985, at 9.] The first federal prison was not opened until 1894 at
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
.
Other provisions
Dissection
![Rembrandt - The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Rembrandt_-_The_Anatomy_Lesson_of_Dr_Nicolaes_Tulp.jpg)
Section 4 authorized a court to order the post-execution
dissection
Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...
of the corpse of convicted murderers. According to
David P. Currie, this was the "most controversial provision of the entire statute".
[Currie, 1994, at 830.] Dissection as punishment had its roots in a 1789 New York statute and a
1752 English law. Rep.
Michael J. Stone of Maryland argued against the inclusion of this provision as cruel. Currie argues that Congress was on a firm constitutional footing in enacting this provision in relation to murders committed in areas under exclusive federal jurisdiction, but perhaps less so for murders committed on the high seas.
Diplomatic immunity
Section 25 provided:
Section 27 provided a limited exception for private debts contracted by ambassadors prior to the passage of the act.
Prosecutions
Between 1790 and 1797, only 147 criminal cases were brought in the circuit courts, and more than half of those cases were brought in the Pennsylvania circuit court concerning the
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...
. And, between 1790 and 1801, only 426 criminal cases were brought in all federal courts (the district courts and the circuit courts combined).
Amendments and repeals
Section 1 was supplemented by an omnibus treason law during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, which, ''
inter alia'', provided for punishments other than death and additional lesser offenses. The offense of treason, and the punishment thereof, were codified in consecutive sections of the
Revised Statutes
Revised Statutes is a term used in some common law jurisdictions for a collection of statutes that have been revised to incorporate amendments, repeals and consolidations. It is not a change to the law, but designed to make the body of statutes m ...
. Both were repealed and replaced by the
Criminal Code of 1909. During the 1948 re-codification of the Criminal Code, the treason offense was amended and moved to
18 U.S.C. § 2381, where it remains. It was amended in 1994.
Section 2 was codified in the Revised Statutes, and re-codified by the Criminal Code of 1909, and the 1948 re-codification. It was amended in 1994.
Section 3 was amended by § 4 of the
Crimes Act of 1825 and codified in the Revised Statutes.
Sections 4, 5 and 6 were codified in the Revised Statutes.
Section 7 was amended in 1857 and 1875 and codified in the Revised Statutes.
Section 8 was amended in 1820, 1835, and 1846 and codified in five sections of the Revised Statutes. Further, § 8 was supplemented by additional prohibitions in § 5 of an
1819 act and § 3 of an
1820 act. Despite the similarity of the provisions, all three were all separately codified in the Revised Statutes in 1874. Section 8 was repealed by the Criminal Code of 1909. Section 8's venue provision was re-enacted by § 14 of the Crimes Act of 1825, with minor changes.
[Crimes Act of 1825, § 14, 4 Stat. 115, 118.]
Sections 9 and 10 were codified in the Revised Statutes. Section 11 was codified in two sections.
Section 12 was amended in 1835 and codified in two sections of the Revised Statutes.
Section 13 was codified in the Revised Statutes.
Section 14 was repealed by § 17 of the Crimes Act of 1825, which broadened the offense of counterfeiting and reduced authorized the punishment from death to 10 years hard labor and a $5000 fine. Sections 18 through 21 of the 1825 Act created additional counterfeiting offenses.
Section 15 was amended in 1874 and codified in the Revised Statutes.
Section 16 was amended in 1842 and codified in the Revised Statutes.
Section 17 was amended by § 8 of the Crimes Act of 1825 and codified in the Revised Statutes.
Section 18 was amended by § 13 of the Crimes Act of 1825—which defined the term "perjury" and increased the authorized punishment to 5 years hard labor and a $3000 fine—and further amended in 1874 and 1876. Perjury and subornation were separately codified in the Revised Statutes.
Section 19 was codified in three sections of the Revised Statutes, and Section 21 was codified in two.
Section 22 was amended in 1866 and codified in the Revised Statutes.
Sections 23 and 24 were codified in the Revised Statutes.
Sections 25 through 29 were not codified in Title LXX of the Revised Statutes.
Section 30, with regard to
peremptory challenge
In American and Australian law, the right of peremptory challenge is a right in jury selection for the attorneys to reject a certain number of potential jurors without stating a reason. Other potential jurors may be challenged for cause, i.e. by ...
s, was re-enacted and supplemented in 1865.
Section 30, with regard to a defendant's failure to enter a plea, was extended from capital to all crimes by § 14 of the Crimes Act of 1825.
Section 31 and 33 were codified in the Revised Statutes.
Constitutionality
According to Taylor: "Like the
Judiciary Act of 1789
The Judiciary Act of 1789 (ch. 20, ) was a United States federal statute enacted on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the First United States Congress. It established the federal judiciary of the United States. Article III, Secti ...
, the Process Act of 1789, and the Crimes Act of 1790, having been passed by the First Congress, are perhaps the statutes most informative of an original understanding of Congress's constitutional power over the federal judiciary."
According to Kurland, "for the most part, Congress enacted statutes that closely tracked the specific constitutional grants of federal criminal authority. However, Congress continued to venture slightly, but significantly, into areas outside the specific constitutional grants."
[Kurland, 1996, at 57.] As examples in the later category, Kurland cites the provisions concerning the integrity of the federal criminal process, bribery,
misprison of treason, and the revenue provisions.
Currie notes that the Crimes Act "resolved a number of interesting constitutional questions".
For example, with reference to the punishments of "
stripes
Stripe, striped, or stripes may refer to:
Decorations
*Stripe (pattern), a line or band that differs in colour or tone from an adjacent surface
*Racing stripe, a vehicle decoration
*Service stripe, a decoration of the U.S. military
Entertainment
...
" and disqualification from office, Currie argues that: "These provisions suggest not only that Congress viewed neither of these punishments as cruel and unusual, but also that they did not understand impeachment to be the sole avenue for the future disqualification of current officeholders." Taylor goes further in arguing the disqualification provision was not merely prospective: "The Crimes Act of 1790 indicates that, beyond its plenary power over federal court jurisdiction and procedure, the First Congress believed it had the constitutional power to make conviction by a court an alternative means of removing a federal judge, outside the impeachment context, and it sheds light on the First Congress's understanding of its own powers to discipline federal judges."
Similarly, the Supreme Court and individual justices have cited the Crimes Act's authorization of the death penalty as evidence that the founders believed it was constitutional.
[''See, e.g.'', Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35, 88 (2008) (Scalia, J., concurring); ]Gregg v. Georgia
''Gregg v. Georgia'', ''Proffitt v. Florida'', ''Jurek v. Texas'', ''Woodson v. North Carolina'', and ''Roberts v. Louisiana'', 428 U.S. 153 (1976), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. It reaffirmed the Court's acceptance of the use ...
, 428 U.S. 153, 177 (1976); Furman v. Georgia
''Furman v. Georgia'', 408 U.S. 238 (1972), was a landmark criminal case in which the United States Supreme Court invalidated all then existing legal constructions for the death penalty in the United States. It was 5–4 decision, with each memb ...
, 408 U.S. 238, 420 (1972) (Powell, J., dissenting).
Notes
References
*
David P. Currie, ''Constitution in Congress: Substantive Issues in the First Congress, 1789–1791'', 61 775 (1994).
*Edwin D. Dickinson, ''Is the Crime of Piracy Obsolete?'', 38 334 (1924).
* (1985).
*Adam H. Kurland, ''First Principles of American Federalism and the Nature of Federal Criminal Jurisdiction'', 45 1 (1996).
*Paul Taylor, ''Congress's Power to Regulate the Federal Judiciary: What the First Congress and the First Federal Courts Can Teach Today's Congress and Courts'', 37 847 (2010).
External links
Textfrom the Library of Congress
{{Authority control
United States federal criminal legislation
Legal history of the United States
Acts of the 1st United States Congress
United States federal public corruption crime
United States piracy law
1790 in American law