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7 Malabu: Maritime L. Bull. 20 (2016-2017)
From Smith to Said: The Law of Nations as an Integral Part in the Evolution of United States

handle is hein.journals/marilabu7 and id is 20 raw text is: From Smith to Said:The Law of Nations as an Integral Part in the Evolution of United States Jurisprudence through 18 U.S.C. § 1651. By: Matthew Breen United States of America v. Persis Trinidad1 First Circuit Court of Appeals There is scarcely a writer on the law of nations, who does not allude to piracy, as a crime of a settled and determinate nature; and whatever may be the diversity of definitions, in other re- spects, all writers concur, in holding, that robbery, or forcible depredations upon the sea, animo furandi, is piracy.' When Congress enacted the original version of 18 U.S.C. § 1651 ii, it in- corporated the Law of Nations definition of Piracy so that sec- tion 1651 would continue to track developments in customary International Law. The text of section 1651 demonstrates on- going incorporation, including the recent transformations that have come about from recent case law. In 1819, Congress also expanded the jurisdiction of the courts to hear cases involving non-US citizens who committed piracy on the high seas. The courts had jurisdiction if the accused were found in the United States or brought to the United States. The punishment for piracy under the 1819 statute was death. The first case to come about dealing with 1819 statute was United States v. Smith. v In Smith, the Supreme Court con- sidered whether the law of nations defined piracy with suffi- cient certainty to support the jury's special verdict rendered in

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