''Reid v. Covert'', 354 U.S. 1 (1957), was a 6-to-2

landmark decision Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly ...

of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

holding that United States citizen civilians outside of the territorial jurisdiction of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

cannot be tried by a United States

military tribunal Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bod ...

, but instead retain the protections guaranteed by the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

, in this case,

trial by jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

. Additionally, a plurality of the Court also reaffirmed the president’s ability to enter into international

executive agreement An executive agreement is an agreement between the heads of government of two or more nations that has not been ratified by the legislature as treaties are ratified. Executive agreements are considered ''politically binding'' to distinguish the ...

s, though it held that such agreements cannot contradict

federal law Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many ...

or the Constitution.

Background

The case involved Clarice B. Covert, who had been convicted by a

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

ing her husband, a sergeant in the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, at an airbase in England. At the time of her alleged offense, an executive agreement was in effect between the

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, which permitted US military courts to exercise exclusive

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

over offenses by U.S. servicemen or their dependents. The court initially ruled against Mrs. Covert, but changed its mind and issued a new decision in her favor after her lawyer,

Frederick Bernays Wiener Frederick Bernays "Fritz" Wiener (June 1, 1906 – October 1, 1996) was an American jurist specializing in military justice and constitutional law who became famous for the 1957 case of ''Reid v. Covert'', which represents the only time a law ...

, famously made a successful petition for rehearing. This is the only time the Supreme Court, without a relevant change in its membership, has changed its mind as the result of a petition for rehearing.

Opinion of the Court

The Court found: "No agreement with a foreign nation can confer power on the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, or on any other branch of Government, which is free from the restraints of the Constitution." The Court's core holding of the case is that U.S. citizen civilians abroad have the right to Fifth Amendment and Sixth Amendment constitutional protections. The Court found it unconstitutional to adjudge U.S. citizen civilians in military courts, under the

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of Military justice, military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United S ...

. The Court agreed with the petitioners, concluding that as United States citizens they were entitled to the protections of the Bill of Rights, notwithstanding that they committed crimes on foreign soil. The Court distinguished Reid from the Insular Cases: The "

Insular Cases The Insular Cases are a series of opinions by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1901 about the status of U.S. territories acquired in the Spanish–American War. Some scholars also include cases regarding territorial status decided up unt ...

" can be distinguished from the present cases in that they involved the power of Congress to provide rules and regulations to govern temporarily territories with wholly dissimilar traditions and institutions.. Justice

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

declared: "The concept that the Bill of Rights and other constitutional protections against arbitrary government are inoperative when they become inconvenient or when expediency dictates otherwise is a very dangerous doctrine and if allowed to flourish would destroy the benefit of a written Constitution and undermine the basis of our government." Justice Harlan's concurred with the judgment of the Court but disagreed with much of Justice Black's reasoning. He held that the court-martial ''per se'' was not unconstitutional, being an appropriate application of the

Necessary and Proper Clause The Necessary and Proper Clause, also known as the Elastic Clause, is a clause in Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution: Since the landmark decision '' McCulloch v. Maryland'', the US Supreme Court has ruled that this clause g ...

. Harlan also explicitly stated that this power was not limited by either Article III or the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.

Significance

The significance of the case lies in the protection that the United States Constitution grants to civilians who are associated with the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

and are accused of crimes. ''Covert'' and its progeny cases made clear that civilians can't be tried by military courts, but instead must be tried in civil courts regardless where the crime was committed. "The Constitution does not allow Congress to pass regulations that allow the military to

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

a civilian. To do so would deprive an individual of all the safeguards of the Constitution and

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 pr ...

, as well as the protections of civil laws and protections. ..''Covert'' and its progeny unequivocally strike down military jurisdiction over civilian crimes of the United States. ..From this point on, the Constitution was to be interpreted and ensuring that the Bill of Rights would protect all U.S. citizens accused of crimes no matter where those crimes occurred."

Aftermath

Clarice Covert could not be retried. She eventually moved to

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has an estimated population ...

where she worked in the advertising department of the Arizona Sun newspaper and as an archaeologist at the

Museum of Northern Arizona The Museum of Northern Arizona is a museum in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States, that was established as a repository for Indigenous material and natural history specimens from the Colorado Plateau. The museum was founded in 1928 by zoologist ...

. She died on May 9, 1992 in Flagstaff,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

References

External links

* * {{caselaw source , case = ''Reid v. Covert'', {{ussc, 354, 1, 1957, el=no , courtlistener =https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/354/1 , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/354/1/ , loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep354/usrep354001/usrep354001.pdf , oyez =https://www.oyez.org/cases/1955/701 1957 in United States case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court United States foreign relations case law