Treason Law in the US - Essay Example

Running Head: Treason Law Treason Law of Treason Law Treason is a crime which usually refers to disloyalty towards a country. Article 3, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution defines treason against the United States. Treason is considered a crime if some citizen wages war or helps the enemy of the United States. The punishment is implemented by confession or presence of two witnesses. The US Supreme Court declared that an assembly of men preparing or conspiring to wage war against the United States must be present in order for the crime of treason to occur. During the British rule, the colonies were governed by English law in which there were five types of treason. The US constitution has adopted only two definitions of treason: waging war and helping the enemies of the United States. It removed the provisions which specified treason for the death of the monarch, counterfeiting and fornication with women of the royal family. The English used the law to silence political opposition and arrest anyone who was considered a patriot (Abrams, 1976). The section also requires testimony of two different witnesses for the same act or a confession by the accused in a court. After the Cramer v United States trial, the US Supreme Court declared that every action and deed of the defendant must be supported by the testimony of two witnesses. However in other case, Haupt vs. United States, the Supreme Court declared that two witnesses only are required to prove the act of treason occurred. The punishment for treason in the United States is life imprisonment or death (Abrams, 1976). Treason is the only crime which is defined by the US Constitution. This was done to prevent the abuses of the English law. The US Congress has during times of national security created specific statutes that do not require the testimony of two witnesses. They also have a broader definition of treason. The US Constitution only defines the crime of treason; it does not create the offense. The US Congress has prohibited this crime under legislation which states that anyone who is a citizen of the United States prepares for war or helps the enemies of the United States of America by giving them support is guilty of the crime. The punishment for this crime can be life imprisonment or death. The guilty person may also be fined ten thousand dollars. They also cannot run the office of the United States government (Chapin, 1964). There have been an estimated forty prosecutions of treason under the United States law. The number of convictions is also very few. The earliest charges of treason were for people who were convicted with the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion. However they were pardoned by the US government. One of the earliest and most famous treason cases was that of Aaron Burr. Burr had leased a large portion of land in Texas which belonged to Mexico. He wanted to have a large group of farmers with an army that would fight and claim land for him. General James Wilkinson was a Spanish spy who was in charge of the US Army at New Orleans. Another member of the Burr conspiracy was Harman Blennerhassett. Burr believed that a war with Spain was inevitable (Chapin, 1964). The charges against Burr were that he planned to create an independent state in the center of North America. Burr was arrested and indicted for treason. However there has been no evidence of Burr’s true intentions. He stood trial in Virginia for treason but he denied all charges. He was acquitted due to lack of evidence. He was charged with organizing an armed force to take New Orleans and separate the Western part from the Atlantic states. The case brought into question the ideas of executive privilege and independence of the executive. Burr’s lawyers tried to subpoena Jefferson who reserved the right to decide what papers came to him as President (Indiana Law Journal, 1997). The trial also brought a debate about the definition of treason. Questions were asked about the importance of intention to convict someone of treason. His defense lawyer argued that Burr could not be found guilty because he had not committed an act of war. Further it was stated by the defense that an overt act of participation was necessary for conviction of treason which must be proved by evidence. The defense also stated that the actual assembly of men who participated in levying of war would be defined as treason. His defense lawyer argued that Burr had not carried an act of war. Further his right to suggest war or engage in conspiracy was protected by the First Amendment. The jury would eventually acquit Burr. His acquittal would strain the relations between the President and Chief Justice (Indiana Law Journal, 1997). Most states in the United States have provisions in their constitutions similar to those in the US Constitution. Thomas Dorr and John Brown have been the only successful cases of treason that have prosecuted at the state level. After the American civil war, no person was prosecuted for treason despite some indictments. Some people considered as traitors in the United States like the Rosenbergs, Walker Family, Robert Soblen and Jonathan Pollard were convicted of espionage. The Cold War saw associations between treason and support for Communist backed causes. Joseph McCarthy began the investigation of several government agencies for Soviet spy rings. Adam Yahiye Gadahn was convicted of treason on October 2006 for actively supporting Al Qaeda in videos (Shannon, 2002). State constitutions have definitions of treason which are similar to that of the US Constitution. The law of treason has been used by the national Constitution and decisions of American courts. The crime of treason is the foundation of the American legal order. It deals with threats that endanger the national security of the United States of America. This judgment is reflected by Congress which prescribed penalties like death sentence and life imprisonment. If treason charges fall within the definition of the constitution, the judges have applied the law. However due to the limited definition of treason and requirement of the testimony of two witnesses results in a restrictive approach in prosecuting this crime. The treason clause protects the security of the legal order and the civil liberties of the individuals at the same time (Simon, 2001). Cramer v. United States was the conviction of Anthony Cramer for treason. Creamer had dealings with two Germans. These Germans were found to be in the United States for the purpose of sabotage. Cramer was arrested and convicted on the basis of this association. The US court overturned the conviction by the jury. Justice Robert H Jackson said that the constitution clearly defines the crime of treason to waging war or providing assistance to the enemy. The prosecution could only demonstrate an association and not that Cramer had provided any assistance as defined in Article Three. This was the first time that the United States Supreme Court had reviewed a conviction for treason (Simon, 2001). The limits imposed on the definition of treason stem from the fears of the founding fathers that resorting to treason prosecutions would infringe on individual and political liberty. Two fears were very prominent. One fear was that politicians and public office holders would misuse the treason clause for silencing political opposition. Further fear was that it would be used to produce convictions without proper evidence. Federal judges would recognize this restrictive definition in subsequent prosecutions of treason cases. However it has been the practice of the US Congress that the constitutional definition of treason has not prevented the establishment of other statutes that define crimes which endanger the national security of the United State of America. Espionage and spying for instance has been used to convict several people. The limits set by the constitution have helped in the prevention of treason prosecutions to intimidate or silence political competition (Simon, 2001). The United States of America has a very limited definition of treason. The crime can be prosecuted only if someone is convicted of waging war or helping the enemy of the United States of America with material assistance. Further the crime can only be prosecuted if two witnesses can prove the crime. The Cramer v. United States trial saw the US Supreme Court declare that every deed and action of the suspect must be proven to be guilty of treason by the two witnesses (Stillman, 2004).However in another case the US Supreme Court declared that two witnesses are sufficient to establish the crime of treason. Inside the United States the crime of treason has been rarely prosecuted and convicted. Very few people have been convicted of treason. The majority of people convicted of life imprisonment or execution have been for spying and espionage. The founding fathers of the United States of America had a deep fear that treason would eventually lead to the prosecution of political opponents. They restricted the definition of the crime (Wiener, 1995). The fear was that politicians and public office holders would use this clause to silence political opposition. Another fear was that it would lead to convictions without any proper evidence. The US Congress has however passed statutes that define crimes which endanger the national security of the United States of America. The treason law both protects the legal order and the civil liberties of peaceful political participation. References: Abrams, Stuart E. "Threats to the President and the Constitutionality of Constructive Treason." Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems 12, no. 3 (1976): 351–392. Chapin, Bradley. The American Law of Treason: Revolutionary and Early National Origins. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1964. "Civil Liberty and the Civil War: The Indianapolis Treason Trials." Indiana Law Journal 72 (1997): 927–937. Elaine Shannon and Ann Blackman, The Spy Next Door : The Extraordinary Secret Life of Robert Philip Hanssen, The Most Damaging FBI Agent in US History, Little, Brown and Company, 2002 Simon, Walter G. "The Evolution of Treason." Tulane Law Review 35, no. 4 2001 Stillman, Arthur M, Federal Case Law concerning the Security of the United States. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2004. Wiener, Frederick Bernays. "Uses and Abuses of Legal History: A Practitioners View." Law Societys Gazette 59, no. 6 1995 Read More