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{{citations missing|date=December 2007}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
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{{SCOTUSCase
{{Infobox SCOTUS case
|Litigants=Ex parte Bollman
|Litigants=Ex parte Bollman
|ArgueDate=
|ArgueDate=
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|USVol=8
|USVol=8
|USPage=75
|USPage=75
|Citation=8 U.S. (4 Cranch) 75; 2 L. Ed. 554; 1807 U.S. LEXIS 369
|ParallelCitations=4 [[William Cranch|Cranch]] 75; 2 [[L. Ed.]] 554; 1807 [[U.S. LEXIS]] 369
|Prior=''United States v. Bollman'', 24 F. Cas. 1189 (C.C.D.C. 1807) (No. 14,622)
|Prior=Defendants charged with treason and imprisoned, U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia
|Subsequent=None
|Subsequent=None
|Holding=The Supreme Court had the power to order that a writ of habeas corpus be issued to release the petitioners from prison, because the Constitution grants that power to federal courts unless Congress suspends it. The petitioners' alleged conspiracy did not rise to the level of treason as defined by the Constitution.
|Holding=The petitioners' alleged conspiracy did not rise to the level of treason as defined by the Constitution.
|SCOTUS=1807
|Majority=Marshall
|Majority=Marshall
|JoinMajority=Cushing, Chase, Washington, Livingston
|JoinMajority=Cushing, Chase, Washington, Livingston
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|LawsApplied=[[Article One of the United States Constitution|U.S. Const. art. I]], [[Article Three of the United States Constitution|III]], [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|amends. IV]], [[Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution|VI]]; [[Judiciary Act of 1789]]
|LawsApplied=[[Article One of the United States Constitution|U.S. Const. art. I]], [[Article Three of the United States Constitution|III]], [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|amends. IV]], [[Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution|VI]]; [[Judiciary Act of 1789]]
}}
}}
'''''Ex parte Bollman''''', {{ussc|8|75|1807|4|Cranch}}, was a case brought before the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]]. Three main points were established in this early and formative civil liberties case:
'''''Ex parte Bollman''''', 8 U.S. (4 Cranch) 75 (1807), was a case brought before the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]]. ''Bollman'' held that the constitutional definition of treason excluded mere conspiracy to levy war against the United States.<ref name="VirginiaLaw">{{cite journal |last1=Howell |first1=Herbert A. |title=The Law of Treason |journal=Virginia Law Review |date=November 1917 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=131–134 |doi=10.2307/1064036 |jstor=1064036 |issn=0042-6601}}</ref>


⚫
Erick Bollman and [[Samuel Swartwout]] were civilians who became implicated in the [[Burr conspiracy|Burr-Wilkinson Plot]]. This plot supposedly consisted of [[Aaron Burr]] and [[James Wilkinson]] attempting to create an empire in the United States, ruled by Burr. In 1806, Wilkinson informed President [[Thomas Jefferson]] of the plot, ending whatever may have actually been planned. Bollman and Swartwout attempted to recruit others into the plot, but these individuals informed the military, which promptly arrested them.
* The Supreme Court has the power to issue writs (orders to enforce a judicial law or principle, e.g. [[habeas corpus]]) to circuit courts.
** This "gives teeth" to writs like that of habeas corpus, because it provides a way to invoke a higher court's mediation.
* The Constitutional definition of treason is limited to actual, direct, and concrete involvement in an attempt to forcefully overthrow the government.
** That is, treason is essentially a "military" offense. For instance, no amount of anti-government speech can qualify as treason, although giving away military secrets might.
* Only Congress may suspend the writ of habeas corpus.
** This was not so much an argued point, nor something presented as a new interpretation, as it was a matter-of-fact observation made by Chief Justice [[John Marshall]]. This principle would be much more hotly debated in the later [[Supreme Court Cases of the American Civil War]], which centered around wartime civil liberties and the ability of the various branches of government to control them.


The Supreme Court decided that "To constitute a levying of war, there must be an assemblage of persons for the purpose of effecting by force a treasonable purpose. Enlistments of men to serve against government is not sufficient."{{R|VirginiaLaw|p=132}}
⚫
Bollman and Swartwout were civilians who became implicated in the [[Burr conspiracy|Burr-Wilkinson Plot]]. This plot supposedly consisted of [[Aaron Burr]] and [[James Wilkinson]] attempting to create an empire in the United States, ruled by Burr. In 1806, Wilkinson informed [[Thomas Jefferson]] of the plot, ending whatever may have actually been planned. Bollman and Swartwout attempted to recruit others into the plot, but these individuals informed the military, which promptly arrested them.


==See also==
==See also==
* ''[[Cramer v. United States]]'': a later treason case before the high court.
*[[List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 8]]
*[[List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 8]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[[Jean Edward Smith]], ''John Marshall: Definer Of A Nation''. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1996.
*The Swartwout Chronicles


==External links==
==External links==
* {{caselaw source
*[http://laws.findlaw.com/us/8/75.html Full Text of the Decision]
| case = ''Ex parte Bollman'', {{ussc|8|75|1807|Cranch|4|el=no}}
| courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/84842/ex-parte-bollman-and-swartwout/
| findlaw = https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/8/75.html
| googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=891096754227370578
| justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/8/75/
| loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep008/usrep008075/usrep008075.pdf
| openjurist =https://openjurist.org/8/us/75
}}


{{USArticleI}}
{{USArticleIII}}


[[Category:United States Constitution Article One case law]]
[[Category:United States Constitution Article Three case law]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court cases]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court cases]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court cases of the Marshall Court]]
[[Category:Criminal cases in the Marshall Court]]
[[Category:Suspension Clause case law]]
[[Category:Suspension Clause case law]]
[[Category:1807 in United States case law]]
[[Category:1807 in United States case law]]
[[Category:Treason]]
[[Category:Treason Clause case law]]
[[Category:United States Constitution Article Three venue case law]]
[[Category:United States habeas corpus case law]]
[[Category:Original habeas cases]]

Latest revision as of 02:10, 13 September 2023

Ex parte Bollman
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided February 20, 1807
Full case nameEx parte Erick Bollman and Ex parte Samuel Swartwout
Citations8 U.S. 75 (more)
4 Cranch 75; 2 L. Ed. 554; 1807 U.S. LEXIS 369
Case history
PriorUnited States v. Bollman, 24 F. Cas. 1189 (C.C.D.C. 1807) (No. 14,622)
SubsequentNone
Holding
The petitioners' alleged conspiracy did not rise to the level of treason as defined by the Constitution.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Marshall
Associate Justices
William Cushing · Samuel Chase
Bushrod Washington · William Johnson
H. Brockholst Livingston
Case opinions
MajorityMarshall, joined by Cushing, Chase, Washington, Livingston
DissentJohnson
Laws applied
U.S. Const. art. I, III, amends. IV, VI; Judiciary Act of 1789

Ex parte Bollman, 8 U.S. (4 Cranch) 75 (1807), was a case brought before the United States Supreme Court. Bollman held that the constitutional definition of treason excluded mere conspiracy to levy war against the United States.[1]

Erick Bollman and Samuel Swartwout were civilians who became implicated in the Burr-Wilkinson Plot. This plot supposedly consisted of Aaron Burr and James Wilkinson attempting to create an empire in the United States, ruled by Burr. In 1806, Wilkinson informed President Thomas Jefferson of the plot, ending whatever may have actually been planned. Bollman and Swartwout attempted to recruit others into the plot, but these individuals informed the military, which promptly arrested them.

The Supreme Court decided that "To constitute a levying of war, there must be an assemblage of persons for the purpose of effecting by force a treasonable purpose. Enlistments of men to serve against government is not sufficient."[1]: 132 

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Howell, Herbert A. (November 1917). "The Law of Treason". Virginia Law Review. 5 (2): 131–134. doi:10.2307/1064036. ISSN 0042-6601. JSTOR 1064036.
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