All Topics  
United States v. Hudson and Goodwin

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

United States v. Hudson and Goodwin
 
 
  Topics United States v. Hudson and Goodwin Topic Home

United States v. Hudson and Goodwin, 11 U.S. 32
Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called Reporter s or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported....
 (1812), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 held that Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 must first enact a law criminalizing an activity, attach a penalty, and give the federal courts jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
 over the offense in order for the court to render a conviction.

illai Hudson and George Goodwin, the defendants
Defendant

A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally indictment or accused of violating a crime statute....
 in this case, were charged with a libel on the President
President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
 and Congress, having accused them of secretly voting to give Napoleon Bonaparte $2 million to make a treaty with Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'United States v. Hudson and Goodwin'
Start a new discussion about 'United States v. Hudson and Goodwin'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


United States v. Hudson and Goodwin, 11 U.S. 32
Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called Reporter s or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported....
 (1812), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 held that Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 must first enact a law criminalizing an activity, attach a penalty, and give the federal courts jurisdiction
Jurisdiction

In law, jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility....
 over the offense in order for the court to render a conviction.

Facts

Barzillai Hudson and George Goodwin, the defendants
Defendant

A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally indictment or accused of violating a crime statute....
 in this case, were charged with a libel on the President
President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
 and Congress, having accused them of secretly voting to give Napoleon Bonaparte $2 million to make a treaty with Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
. The Circuit Court
United States circuit court

The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789....
 was divided on the question of whether they could exercise common law
Common law

Common law refers to law and the corresponding Legal systems of the world developed through legal opinion of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through statute law or Executive ....
 jurisdiction over such cases.

Decision

Justice William Johnson, Jr.
William Johnson (judge)

William Johnson was a state legislator and judge in South Carolina, and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1804 to his death in 1834....
 delivered the opinion of the Court. He first explained that the federal government is one of limited powers, as set forth in the Constitution. Furthermore, only the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 was explicitly defined in Article III of the U.S. Constitution. Since the lower federal courts were created by Congress with the Judiciary Act of 1789
Judiciary Act of 1789

The United States Judiciary Act of 1789 was a landmark statute adopted on September 24, 1789 in the first session of the First United States Congress establishing the United States federal courts....
, their jurisdiction had to be defined by Congress. Therefore, the Court reasoned that since Congress has the power to create such courts, the principles of limited government militate in favor of limiting those courts' jurisdiction to specific acts specified by Congress. The Court held that "[t]he legislative authority of the Union must first make an act a crime, affix a punishment to it, and declare the Court that shall have jurisdiction of the offence."

Justice Johnson, in dicta
Obiter dictum

An obiter dictum , Latin for a statement "said by the way", is a remark or observation made by a judge that, although included in the body of the court's opinion, does not form a necessary part of the court's decision....
, also mentioned an exception to this general rule—that courts do have some implied powers; for example, to punish litigants for contumacy
Contumacy

Contumacy is the refusal to obey a court order, which is usually punished as contempt of court. While not expressly delegated in the U.S. Constitution, U.S....
 (contempt of court
Contempt of court

Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court Trial or Hearing , deems an individual as having been disrespectful of the court, its process, and its invested powers....
) and enforcement of court orders.

Impact

This case effectively closed the door on the lower federal courts' powers to try and convict defendants for common law crimes, and mandated that Congress specifically define their criminal jurisdiction through legislation
Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgation by a legislature or other governing body. The term may refer to a single law, or the collective body of enacted law, while "statute" is also used to refer to a single law....
. Thus, the court essentially introduced the legal concept of nulla poena sine lege
Nulla poena sine lege

The phrase Nulla poena sine lege refers to the Law principle that one cannot be punished for doing something that is not prohibited by law....
 into federal jurisprudence.

See also



External links


Additional resources

  • , explaining the background and context of the case (scroll down to find this case).