United States
The United States inherited the English common law from the British Empire, and the Founding Fathers recognised the danger of what James Madison called "new-fangled and artificial treasons." Therefore they intentionally drafted the treason clause of the US Constitution narrowly:
| “ | Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. | ” |
This avoided vague words like "compassing or imagining" which had given British judges and lawyers such latitude. The words "giving them aid and comfort" were added by the Committee of Detail to further narrow the definition of treason. This was done not only to prevent judges from constructing new treasons, but also to prevent Congress from enacting new ones.
The constitutional definition did not immediately deter prosecutors from attempting to prosecute for levying war people who had not directly done so. However the Supreme Court resisted efforts to construe the definition more widely than its text appeared to allow. In Ex parte Bollman (1807) the Supreme Court rejected arguments by prosecutors to the effect that enlisting an army of men against the United States could amount to levying war before they actually assembled. Chief Justice Marshall held: "The mere enlisting of men, without assembling them, is not levying war." In United States v. Burr the Court held that mere intent to commit treason was not sufficient either. Subsequent cases have concentrated on evidential requirements for proving treason, rather than definitions of substantive crimes.
Read more about this topic: Constructive Treason
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