''United States v. Simms'', 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 252 (1803), was a

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 ...

case. It was one of a series of cases dealing with the applicability of previous

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

s in the newly created

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Background

Prior to the creation of the District of Columbia in 1801, Virginia created a

private right of action A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a p ...

to enforce most of its criminal statutes. It was illegal in Virginia to operate a

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions of ...

parlor, a faro table, or any of a number of other

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

operations from one's house. The

provided that the penalty would be a fine of 150 pounds payable to ''any'' party that would file

suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...

against the operator.. When the District of Columbia was formed the acts of

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 a ...

that created the district, also created a contradictory legal situation. They held that within the portion of the District of Columbia that had previously been Virginia territory the laws of Virginia would continue to apply. However, it also held that all suits for breach of the peace or other laws within the district must be

prosecute A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

d in the name 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and that fines would be payable to the United States. This led to a contradiction because the Virginia law, which was supposedly still in force, had no such requirement.

Decision

The Court held that it was the object of Congress not to change in any respect the existing laws further than the new situation of the District rendered indispensably necessary. Thus ''

qui tam In common law, a writ of ''qui tam'' is a writ through which private individuals who assist a prosecution can receive for themselves all or part of the damages or financial penalties recovered by the government as a result of the prosecution. Its ...

'' remedies enacted before the creation of the District should persist.

Notes and references

External links

* {{caselaw source , case = ''United States v. Simms'', {{Ussc, 5, 252, 1803, Cranch, 1, el=no , courtlistener = , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/5/252/ , loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep005/usrep005252/usrep005252.pdf , openjurist =https://openjurist.org/5/us/252 1803 in the United States 1803 in United States case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Marshall Court Criminal cases in the Marshall Court Legal history of the District of Columbia

Background

Decision

See also

Notes and references

External links