§ 2381, 2011).Įxample of a Case Lacking Treason Elements and Evidentiary Requirementsīenedict is identified as a person of interest in a treason case. Treason is graded as a felony that can merit the death penalty or prohibit the defendant from ever holding federal office (18 U.S.C. 1, 34, 35 (1945), “Every act, movement, deed, and word of the defendant charged to constitute treason must be supported by the testimony of two witnesses,” and it is not enough that the elements of treason can be inferred from the witness statements. The Constitution specifies the evidentiary requirements that two witnesses testify to an overt act of treason or that the defendant confess in open court, although this is not set forth in the federal treason statute (18 U.S.C., 2011). The criminal intent element required for treason is most likely the general intent or knowingly to commit an act of levying war or the specific intent or purposely to betray the United States by giving aid and comfort to enemies (Cramer v. 631 (1947), the US Supreme Court held that the defendant’s acts of harboring and sheltering his son in his home, helping him to purchase an automobile, and obtain employment constituted providing aid and comfort to the enemy because the defendant’s son was a spy and saboteur. Burr, 25 F Cas 55 (1807), a case involving then-vice president Aaron Burr’s prosecution for treason, the US Supreme Court held that levying war means an actual assembling of men, not a conspiracy to levy war, nor a mere enlistment of men. Prosecutions for treason are practically nonexistent, so case law in this area is dated, yet still constitutes viable precedent. The criminal act element required for treason is levying war against the United States or adhering to the enemy by giving aid and comfort (18 U.S.C. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.” The pertinent section of the Constitution states, “Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying War against them, or, in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. Although the treason clause in the Constitution is modeled after the early English law defining treason, it omits a section that criminalized “imagining the death of the King” and also limits Congress’s authority to extend or expand the crime of treason or to lighten the evidentiary requirements. Treason was punishable by death in England, so it was a constant threat to anyone who disagreed with the ruling party. The founding fathers wanted to ensure that the government would not charge an individual with treason without significant and reliable proof.

The last section of this chapter discusses other crimes against the government that are primarily state regulated, such as perjury, bribery, and obstruction of justice.Īrticle III § 3 of the US Constitution defines treason and specifies the evidentiary requirements for any treason trial. Section 13.2 “Crimes Involving Terrorism” examines terrorism and the USA PATRIOT Act.

This section explores crimes against the nation, such as treason, sedition, sabotage, and espionage. Criminal statutes protecting the government can encroach on the individual freedom to protest government action and can also affect privacy interests, which subjects them to enhanced constitutional scrutiny similar to the crimes against the public reviewed in Chapter 12 “Crimes against the Public”. National security is an issue that affects the entire country, so most of the regulation in this area is federal, rather than state (Pennsylvania v. The government is tasked with keeping the nation safe from domestic and international attacks on the government and citizens.

Define the elements of espionage, and analyze espionage grading.

Define the elements of various forms of sabotage, and analyze sabotage grading.

Define the elements of sedition, and analyze sedition grading.

Define the elements of treason, and analyze treason’s evidentiary requirements and grading.

Espionage definition and examples