Constitutional Opinion No. 2026-0775
Case Information
- Content Scored
- United States v. Smith, 18 U.S. 153 (1820)
- Source
- Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Reports Vol. 18 (5 Wheaton)
- Author
- Justice Joseph Story (opinion of the Court); Livingston, J. dissenting
- Publication Date
- 1820-02-01
- Content Type
- Judicial Opinion / Legal-Normative Text
- Opinion Issued
- 2026-07-20
- AFCS Version
- 1.0
Holding
A clean exercise of an enumerated national power at its most legitimate -- the punishment of those who make war on all commerce. Smith, convicted of piracy under the Act of 1819, argued Congress had not truly "defined" the crime by punishing "piracy, as defined by the law of nations." Story rejected it and upheld the Act. The Constitution empowers Congress to "define and punish piracies... and offences against the law of nations," and Congress may define by "a term of a known and determinate meaning," for "that is certain which is by necessary reference rendered certain." Piracy is such a term: across the civil law, common law, and law of nations alike it means "robbery upon the high seas," and the pirate is "hostes humani generis," the enemy of all mankind. Strong, untroubled alignment: a faithful reading of the constitutional structure -- Congress exercising an enumerated power exactly as granted, a determinate historical term supplying the required definiteness (a disciplined construction, unlike the same era's looser McCulloch reasoning) (Article XVII, 80); the rule of law and safety of the citizen -- a definite crime protecting commerce from robbery on the seas (Article XVIII, 78); peace through strength in its oldest form -- suppressing the sea-rovers who prey on the commerce of nations (Article XVI, 76). The "law of nations" reliance imports no foreign authority over American sovereignty: the Constitution itself commits offences against that law to Congress, so this is a delegated American power over a crime every nation condemns. No countervailing tension. Scored as Legal/Normative text (85/15). Tier 1 nets to 78; the result is 80 -- America First, at the threshold. An express power used, within its terms, to defend the nation's commerce against the enemy of all mankind. Principle scored, not result.
It is the judgment of this Court that Opinion No. 2026-0775 is hereby entered into the record, in accordance with the America First Constitutional Standard. The score stands. The reasoning is published. The record is public.