Federal Law News

Did The Federal Courts Have Jurisdiction To Try The Mende On Criminal Charges

No, said Justice Smith Thompson in the U.S. Circuit Court.

Following the Spanish planters’ testimony about the revolt on the Amistad, the U.S. attorney for Connecticut prepared an indictment of the adult Mende on charges of murder and piracy. In the U.S. Circuit Court for Connecticut, a grand jury returned a finding of facts regarding the revolt on the schooner, the killing of the captain and cook, and the theft of goods on board. Justice Thompson denied that the federal courts had any jurisdiction over the alleged crimes. The crimes allegedly committed on a Spanish vessel sailing under a Spanish commander could only be tried in the courts of that nation. The federal courts did have jurisdiction over violations of the law of nations, including piracy, but earlier court decisions had established that the slave trade was not a violation of the customs and practices that made up the law of nations.

Even before the circuit court convened, the U.S. attorney privately admitted that the courts did not have criminal jurisdiction over the Mende, and few observers expected a criminal trial. The Mende never again faced any criminal charges in the United Stat

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