Today in Supreme Court History: May 22, 1807

5/22/1807: Aaron Burr is indicted on charges of treason. Chief Justice John Marshall would preside over Burr's trial.

Aaron Burr

Comments

[Martinned]

TIL that the pre-1912 Circuit Courts, complete with circuit riding, also functioned as first instance courts.

[Martinned]

Of course, in retrospect I could have worked that out because I knew about Ex Parte Merryman, but then it turns out that there are different opinions about whether Taney CJ's judgment in that case was a circuit court judgment or not.

(You will be shocked to learn that one of the academics who has opinions about this issue is Seth Barrett Tillman.)

[Malika the Maiz]

Aaron really was a burr in the side of many of the other Founders…

[Frank Drackman]

"When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk" (HT Tuco Benedicto Pacífico Juan María Ramírez AKA "The Rat")

[David Nieporent]

"What do you get if you cross the expressions 'burr in the saddle' and 'thorn in the side' with a pun?"

[JoeFromtheBronx]

President Jefferson was sure Burr was guilty and angry at how Chief Justice Marshall handled the trial. The case touched upon issues of treason, executive privilege, habeas, and more.

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-great-trial-that-tested-the-constitutions-treason-clause

I'm somewhat curious how Josh Blackman would have live blogged things. Would Marshall be another "John" whom JB would disdain?

Or, would he appreciate his "courage"?

[John F. Carr]

Today the Supreme Court upheld a wire fraud conviction for falsely certifying disadvantaged business status on a federal-aid contract. The court took the case to resolve a circuit split over whether proof of economic loss was required in a wire fraud case. There was no loss. PennDOT got the public works it wanted. But it didn't get the contractor it wanted.

Barrett's opinion notes that the common law remedies for material misrepresentation included recission, criminal prosecution, and recovery in tort. Despite the lack of loss PennDOT could have rescinded the contract if the lie had been discovered in time. That is good enough.

There was some conservative skepticism about whether the lie was material, a question the court did not agree to decide.

Kousisis v. United States (23-909).

[Bored Lawyer]

Chicago Sun-Times Published A.I.-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don’t Exist

https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-sun-times-published-a-i-generated-summer-reading-list-with-books-that-dont-exist?author=Amanda+Harding&category=News&elementPosition=0&row=3&rowHeadline=Latest+News&rowType=Vertical+Carousel&title=Chicago+Sun-Times+Published+A.I.-Generated+Summer+Reading+List+With+Books+That+Don%E2%80%99t+Exist

"The outlet noted that only five of the 15 books suggested were real titles."

Not a court submission, but still more proof that AI is garbage.

AI has been touted as the hottest thing since sliced bread. It may turn out to be as important as the Y2K crisis. (Look it up, youngins.)

[Dillinger]

>>Chief Justice John Marshall would preside over Burr's trial.

presiding definitely took place.

[JohnZ]

Shooting Hamilton was a good start.

[The Turtle Dove]

In his diary the next day, if memory serves, Marshall wrote something along the lines of "Yesterday I indicted Burr, and today I rode to the mountains."

Considerably more dramatic in those pre- I-64 days. Shenandoah.

Mr. D.