Overt act
In
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The term is more particularly employed in cases of treason, which must be demonstrated by some overt or open act in some jurisdictions.[1][3] This rule was enacted in the law of England (see the Treason Act 1547), and was later adopted by the United States in Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, which provides that "No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."[4] In Cramer v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that "every act, movement, deed, and word of the defendant charged to constitute treason must be supported by the testimony of two witnesses."[5] In Haupt v. United States (330 U.S. 631), however, the Supreme Court found that two witnesses are not required either to prove intent or to prove that an overt act is treasonable. The two witnesses, according to that decision, are required to prove only that the overt act occurred.[6]
In some jurisdictions, a
References
- ^ a b public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Overt Act". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 384. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ISBN 9781567315530.
- ^ ISBN 9780787663742.
- ^ Storey, J. (1833) Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, §1796
- ^ via Wikisource. . . April 23, 1945 – via
- ^ "The Haupt Case at Cornell Law School website