Supreme Court case on piracy...
Item # 714943
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NILES' WEEKLY REGISTER, Baltimore, Jan. 15, 1821 Inside has over a full page taken up with: "Law Case--Piracy" "Before the District Court of the U.S. at Savannah", being the quite historic case of the United States vs. John Smith over piracy.
There are a number of websites that deal with this Supreme Court case in which the court held that Congress may import the definition of piracy from international law without defining it in the criminal statute with particularity. Smith was indicted for piracy & a jury of the Circuit Court of Virginia returned a special verdict finding that if Smith's actions constituted piracy under United States law, he was guilty, but if the conduct was not piracy under United States law, he was not guilty.
Sixteen pages, 6 by 9 3/4 inches, very nice condition.
As noted in Wikipedia, this title: "...(was) one of the most widely-circulated magazines in the United States...Devoted primarily to politics...considered an important source for the history of the period."
There are a number of websites that deal with this Supreme Court case in which the court held that Congress may import the definition of piracy from international law without defining it in the criminal statute with particularity. Smith was indicted for piracy & a jury of the Circuit Court of Virginia returned a special verdict finding that if Smith's actions constituted piracy under United States law, he was guilty, but if the conduct was not piracy under United States law, he was not guilty.
Sixteen pages, 6 by 9 3/4 inches, very nice condition.
As noted in Wikipedia, this title: "...(was) one of the most widely-circulated magazines in the United States...Devoted primarily to politics...considered an important source for the history of the period."
Item from our most recent catalog - #370 - released for September, 2026
Category: Pre-Civil War
Price
$37
100% Authentic: Original printing, never a reproduction.