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130-641: The Vicinage Clause is a provision in the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution regulating the vicinity from which a jury pool may be selected. The clause says that the accused shall be entitled to an "impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law". The Vicinage Clause limits the vicinity of criminal jury selection to both
260-667: A Founding Father of the United States , was an attorney and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , and Wilmington, Delaware . Dickinson was known as the " Penman of the Revolution " for his twelve Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania , published individually in 1767 and 1768, and he also wrote " The Liberty Song " in 1768. As a member of the First Continental Congress , where he signed
390-544: A change of venue due to the impossibility of finding an impartial jury in the location where the crime was committed. A similar problem was cited by the Nevada Legislature in 1989 when it dissolved Bullfrog County , an uninhabited county (the only uninhabited county in the history of the United States) created in 1987 for the sole purpose of shifting federal transfer payments related to the creation of
520-697: A "Proclamation against Vice and Immorality," he sought ways to bring an end what he perceived to be the disorder of the American Revolution . It was a popular position and enhanced his reputation both in Delaware and Pennsylvania. Dickinson then successfully challenged the Delaware General Assembly to address lagging militia enlistments and to properly fund the state's assessment to the Confederation government. Recognizing
650-679: A "superfine" flour. Most people at this plantation were servants and slaves of the Dickinsons. Dickinson was educated at home by his parents and by recent immigrants employed for that purpose. Among them was the Presbyterian minister Francis Alison , who later established New London Academy in Chester County, Pennsylvania . Most important was his tutor, William Killen, who became a lifelong friend and who later became Delaware 's first chief justice and chancellor . Dickinson
780-540: A capital case, where the defendant is unable to employ counsel, and is incapable adequately of making his own defense because of ignorance, feeble mindedness, illiteracy, or the like, it is the duty of the court, whether requested or not, to assign counsel for him." In Johnson v. Zerbst , 304 U.S. 458 (1938), the Supreme Court ruled that in all federal cases, counsel would have to be appointed for defendants who were too poor to hire their own. In 1961,
910-403: A defendant, he has a right to legal assistance when the government interrogates him and that when a defendant is arrested, "arraigned on [an arrest] warrant before a judge", and "committed by the court to confinement", "[t]here can be no doubt that judicial proceedings ha[ve] been initiated." A criminal defendant may represent himself, unless a court deems the defendant to be incompetent to waive
1040-606: A fierce advocate for independence and Dickinson's adversary on the floor of Congress, remarked, "Mr. Dickinson's alacrity and spirit certainly become his character and sets a fine example." Dickinson is one of only two members of the First Continental Congress who actively took up arms during the Revolutionary War. In the Pennsylvania militia, known as the Associators , Dickinson was given
1170-703: A hospital. He stayed at Poplar Hall for more than two years. The Delaware General Assembly tried to appoint him as their delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1777, but he refused. In August 1777, he served as a private with the Kent County militia at Middletown, Delaware , under General Caesar Rodney to help delay General William Howe 's march to Philadelphia during the Philadelphia campaign . In October 1777, Dickinson's friend Thomas McKean appointed him brigadier general of
1300-609: A jury of six would be sufficient, but anything less would deprive the defendant of a right to trial by jury. In Ramos v. Louisiana (2020), the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment mandates unanimity in all federal and state criminal jury trials. The Sixth Amendment requires juries to be impartial. Impartiality has been interpreted as requiring individual jurors to be unbiased. At voir dire , each side may question potential jurors to determine any bias, and challenge them if
1430-407: A jury trial in the same state and district that the crime was committed. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with
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#17327972848611560-487: A limited distance round a particular spot; a neighbourhood." The OED cites Thomas Fuller 's Church History (1655): "King Ethelred . . . began the tryal of Causes by a Jury of twelve men to be chosen out of the Vicenage." According to Blackstone , in medieval England, the "vicinage of the jury" referred to a jury drawn from the relevant county . A 1543 statute of Henry VIII of England permits treason committed outside
1690-699: A militia officer during the Revolution . He later was elected president of the 1786 Annapolis Convention , which called for the Constitutional Convention of 1787 , and as a delegate from Delaware , he signed the United States Constitution . One of the wealthiest men in the British American colonies , Dickinson served as president of Delaware (1781–1783) and president of Pennsylvania (1782–1785). Upon Dickinson's death, President Thomas Jefferson referred to Dickinson as, "(a)mong
1820-563: A neighboring province if "an indifferent trial cannot be had within" Massachusetts. The Virginia House of Burgesses condemned the renewal of the treason law on May 16, 1769 in the Virginia Resolves : The same resolution referred to the "inestimable Privilege of being tried by a Jury from the Vicinage." The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress adopted on October 14, 1774, resolved: On October 26, 1774,
1950-876: A practical matter) with the venue provision of Article Three and Rule 18 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure . Further, with the exception of the Court for the District of Wyoming , whose district includes the portions of Yellowstone National Park in Idaho and Montana, no federal judicial district includes the territory of two or more states (except, historically, the District of Potomac , which existed from February 1801 to March 1802). The Oxford English Dictionary defines "vicinage" as "A number of places lying near to each other taken collectively; an area extending to
2080-527: A purposive, rather than textualist, interpretation of the Clause by arguing that a jury drawn from elsewhere could satisfy the purposes of the Clause. Kalt also notes that the Vicinage Clause would not protect against civil liability or vigilante justice . The defendant could also be charged under state law if it was violation of that as well. Others have noted that the prosecution could simply move for
2210-403: A representative cross-section of the community. The right to a jury applies only to offenses in which the penalty is imprisonment for longer than six months. In Barker v. Wingo , the Supreme Court articulated a balancing test to determine whether a defendant's right to a speedy trial had been violated. It has additionally held that the requirement of a public trial is not absolute and that both
2340-635: Is named in his honor, as is John Dickinson High School in Milltown, Delaware , and Dickinson Hall at the University of Delaware . An original stage play Except, Mr. Dickinson was presented at the 15th Street Meeting House in an off-Broadway setting. The show was written by August Nigro. Dickinson was a self-taught scholar of history, and spent most of his time in historical research. As an intellectual, he thought that men should think for themselves, and his deepening studies led him to refuse to sign
2470-406: Is not sufficient to set forth the offense in the words of the statute, unless those words of themselves fully, directly, and expressly, without any uncertainty or ambiguity, set forth all the elements necessary to constitute the offense intended to be punished." Vague wording, even if taken directly from a statute, does not suffice. However, the government is not required to hand over written copies of
2600-599: The American Philosophical Society as a member. On July 19, 1770, Dickinson married Mary Norris , known as Polly, a prominent and well educated 30-year-old woman in Philadelphia with a substantial holding of real estate and personal property, including a 1,500 volume library, one of the largest in the colonies at the time, who had been operating her family's estate, Fair Hill, for several years by herself with some support from her sister. She
2730-704: The Continental Association , Dickinson drafted most of the 1774 Petition to the King , and then, as a member of the Second Continental Congress , he wrote the 1775 Olive Branch Petition . Both of these attempts to negotiate with King George III of Great Britain failed. Dickinson also reworked Thomas Jefferson 's language to write the final draft of the 1775 Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms . While in Congress, Dickinson served on
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#17327972848612860-523: The Continental Congress approved an address to the people of Quebec , drafted by Thomas Cushing , Richard Henry Lee , and John Dickinson , arguing that: The United States Declaration of Independence (1776) accuses King George III of "transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences". The New Jersey Plan contained a provision that: "[N]o person shall be liable to be tried for any criminal offense, committed within any of
2990-520: The Declaration of Independence , which was subsequently unanimously adopted by the remaining delegates to the Second Continental Congress . Dickinson did not consider it wise to plunge into immediate war; rather, he thought it best to use diplomacy to attain political ends and used the insights he gained from his historical studies to justify his caution. Given that Dickinson was raised in an aristocratic family, his cautious and thoughtful temperament
3120-738: The Delaware Militia , but Dickinson again declined the appointment. Shortly after, he learned that the British had burned down his Fair Hill property in the Battle of Germantown . In 1777, Dickinson, then Delaware's wealthiest farmer and largest slaveholder, decided to free his slaves. While Kent County was not as large a slave-holding area as southern colonies and Dickinson had only 37 slaves, his action represented considerable courage. The strongly abolitionist Quaker influences around them likely were influential in his decision, and his action
3250-428: The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure —"where the offense was committed". The three provisions have been interpreted in tandem to refer to the locus delicti of the offense. Lower courts are split on whether the Clause requires that the defendant be tried in a judicial district that was in existence at the time the crime was committed. Some courts have held that it does. Others have held that it does not and that
3380-587: The First Continental Congress in 1774 and the Second Continental Congress in 1775 and 1776. In support of the cause, he continued to contribute declarations in the name of the Congress. Dickinson wrote the Olive Branch Petition as the Second Continental Congress' last attempt for peace with King George III , who did not even read the petition. But through it all, agreeing with George Read and many others in Philadelphia and
3510-612: The Indian Territory , Navassa Island , and the No Man's Land of the Oklahoma Panhandle , the Supreme Court has held that the Clause places no limits on the prosecution of crimes committed outside the territory of a state . The Clause does not require a jury drawn from the judicial division (a subset of a federal judicial district ) within which the crime occurred; rather, the jury may be drawn from any division of
3640-705: The Inns of Court , following in the footsteps of his lifelong friend, Pennsylvania Attorney General Benjamin Chew , and in 1757 was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar beginning his career as barrister and solicitor. In protest to the Townshend Acts , Dickinson published Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania , which were first published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle . Dickinson's letters were reprinted by numerous other newspapers, and they emerged among
3770-652: The Wyoming Valley resulting from prior claims of Connecticut to those lands. An exhausted Dickinson left office October 18, 1785. On that day a special election was held in which Benjamin Franklin was unanimously elected to serve the ten days left in Dickinson's term. Perhaps the most significant decision of his term was his patient, peaceful management of the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 . This
3900-580: The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility directly to the Nevada state treasury. Before the adoption of the federal Constitution, only two state constitutions provided an explicit vicinage right. The Virginia Constitution of 1776 provided: "in all capital or criminal prosecutions a man hath a right to . . . an impartial jury of twelve men of his vicinage." The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 read similarly, but said "county" instead of "vicinage"; it
4030-518: The first Judiciary Act (already being debate) were sufficient. A second letter from Madison to Pendleton recounts that the Senators were The committee adopted the version that passed Congress and was ratified by the states: The Vicinage Clause applies only to petit juries , not grand juries , although some cases finding no violation of the Clause have assumed without deciding that the Clause does apply to grand juries. In murder cases arising from
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4160-594: The lower counties , Dickinson's objective at first was reconciliation, not independence and revolution. Dickinson prepared the first draft of the Articles of Confederation in 1776, after others had ratified the Declaration of Independence despite his concerns that the Declaration would escalate the Revolutionary War , which began in 1775 at the Battle of Lexington and Concord . At the time, he chaired
4290-508: The state and the federal judicial district where the crime has been committed. This is distinct from the venue provision of Article Three of the United States Constitution , which regulates the location of the actual trial. The Vicinage clause has its roots in medieval English criminal procedure, the perceived abuses of criminal vicinage and venue during the colonial period (when trials for treason were being held in England rather than in
4420-465: The "lawfulness of defensive war". </ref> He and Norris were married in a civil ceremony. In Philadelphia, they lived at Fair Hill near the present-day Germantown neighborhood in Philadelphia, which they modernized through their combined wealth. Meanwhile, Dickinson built an elegant mansion on Chestnut Street , but never lived there because the mansion was confiscated and turned into a hospital during his 1776–77 absence in Delaware. It then became
4550-685: The "realm" to be tried "before such commissioners, and in such shire of the realm, as shall be assigned by the King's majesty's commission." Parliament renewed the statute in 1769. This law was used to try colonists accused of treason in England. A 1772 statute of George III of the United Kingdom permits destruction of dockyards, magazines, ships, ammunition, and supplies committed outside the "realm" to be tried in any "shire or county within this realm". A 1772 statute permitted capital crimes committed in Massachusetts to be tried in England or
4680-610: The Articles of Confederation and secure a foreign alliance before issuing a declaration. Dickinson also objected to violence as a means for resolving the Thirteen Colonies ' dispute with Britain . He abstained or absented himself from the votes on July 2 that declared independence and absented himself again from voting on the wording of the formal declaration on July 4. Dickinson understood the implications of his refusal to vote saying, "My conduct this day, I expect will give
4810-540: The Civil Government shall be molested or prejudiced in his or their {his or her} persons or Estate for his or her religious persuasion or Practise, nor be compelled to frequent or maintain or contribute to maintain any religious Worship, Place of Worship, or Ministry, contrary to his or her Mind." Delaware elections were held October 1 and members of the General Assembly took office on October 20 or
4940-583: The Constitution was adopted." Therefore, it was held that federal criminal juries had to be composed of twelve persons and that verdicts had to be unanimous, as was customary in England. When, under the Fourteenth Amendment , the Supreme Court extended the right to a trial by jury to defendants in state courts, it re-examined some of the standards. It has been held that twelve came to be the number of jurors by "historical accident", and that
5070-419: The Constitution, with a proviso that a Bill of Rights, including a right to "trial by an impartial jury of his vicinage", be added by amendment. North Carolina adopted the same proviso as Virginia, but refused to ratify the Constitution in its absence. New York and Rhode Island ratified the constitution with similar provisos as Virginia (but, in the case of Rhode Island, the Sixth Amendment had already been sent to
5200-505: The Constitutionalists in the majority in his last year, all issues were contentious. At first he endured withering attacks from his opponents for his alleged failure to fully support the new government in large and small ways. He responded ably and survived the attacks. He managed to settle quickly the old boundary dispute with Virginia in southwestern Pennsylvania but was never able to satisfactorily disentangle disputed titles in
5330-522: The Convention he promoted the resulting Constitution in a series of nine essays, written under the pen name Fabius . Dickinson himself did not sign the constitution as he left early due to chronic illness but instead a colleague, George Read signed his name. In 1791, Delaware convened a convention to revise its existing Constitution , which had been hastily drafted in 1776. Dickinson was elected president of this convention, and although he resigned
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5460-429: The Court decided a jury is required if a federal supervised release revocation would carry a mandatory minimum prison sentence. Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution requires defendants be tried by juries and in the state in which the crime was committed. The Sixth Amendment requires the jury to be selected from judicial districts ascertained by statute. In Beavers v. Henkel , 194 U.S. 73 (1904),
5590-594: The Court extended the rule that applied in federal courts to state courts. It held in Hamilton v. Alabama , 368 U.S. 52 (1961), that counsel had to be provided at no expense to defendants in capital cases when they so requested, even if there was no "ignorance, feeble mindedness, illiteracy, or the like". Gideon v. Wainwright , 372 U.S. 335 (1963), ruled that counsel must be provided to indigent defendants in all felony cases, overruling Betts v. Brady , 316 U.S. 455 (1942), in which
5720-570: The Court has not incorporated the vicinage right. A criminal defendant has the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against them. Therefore, an indictment must allege all the ingredients of the crime to such a degree of precision that it would allow the accused to assert double jeopardy if the same charges are brought up in subsequent prosecution. The Supreme Court held in United States v. Carll , 105 U.S. 611 (1881), that "in an indictment ... it
5850-605: The Court held that a suspended sentence that may result in incarceration cannot be imposed if the defendant did not have counsel at trial. As stated in Brewer v. Williams , 430 U.S. 387 (1977), the right to counsel "[means] at least that a person is entitled to the help of a lawyer at or after the time that judicial proceedings have been initiated against him, whether by formal charge, preliminary hearing, indictment, information, or arraignment." Brewer goes on to conclude that once adversary proceedings have begun against
5980-657: The Court ruled that state courts had to appoint counsel only when the defendant demonstrated "special circumstances" requiring the assistance of counsel. Under Argersinger v. Hamlin , 407 U.S. 25 (1972), counsel must be appointed in any case resulting in a sentence of actual imprisonment. Regarding sentences not immediately leading to imprisonment, the Court in Scott v. Illinois , 440 U.S. 367 (1979), ruled that counsel did not need to be appointed, but in Alabama v. Shelton , 535 U.S. 654 (2002),
6110-605: The Court ruled that the "primary purpose" of a shooting victim's statement as to who shot him, and the police's reason for questioning him, each had to be objectively determined. If the "primary purpose" was for dealing with an "ongoing emergency", then any such statement was not testimonial and so the Confrontation Clause would not require the person making that statement to testify in order for that statement to be admitted into evidence. The right to confront and cross-examine witnesses also applies to physical evidence;
6240-516: The House amended Madison's language as follows: Aedanus Burke (A-SC) proposed that "vicinage" be replaced by "district or county in which the offence has been committed". Richard Henry Lee (A-VA) argued that "vicinage" was better, "it being a term well understood by every gentleman of legal knowledge". Rep. Burke's amendment was defeated. As amended by the Committee of Eleven, this language passed
6370-477: The House version of the Sixth Amendment, with the exception of the grand jury indictment clause. A motion to restore the House wording failed. Little is known about the Senate debate due to the illness of Senator Samuel Maclay whose journal is a key source for the proceedings of the Senate during the first Congress. A September 14, 1789 letter from Madison to Edmund Pendleton reports: The altered form in which
6500-468: The House. The Committee of Three, undertaking the task of transforming the amendments to the body of the Constitution into a separate Bill of Rights, moved the language to Article X and deleted the language concerning crimes not committed within a state. The Senate debated the Bill of Rights from September 2 to September 9 and returned a version to the House on September 10. The Senate deleted every clause from
6630-409: The Idaho portion of the park (for example, if the defendant(s) conspired elsewhere). Second, the government could charge crimes for which the maximum authorized sentence is six months or less, to which the jury right does not attach. Third, the Clause might permit the government to encourage potential jurors to move into the Idaho portion of the park after the crime. Fourth, the government might argue for
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#17327972848616760-904: The Kent County property from his cousin and expanded it to about 3,000 acres (1,200 ha), stretching along the St. Jones River from Dover to the Delaware Bay . There he began another plantation and called it Poplar Hall . These plantations were large, profitable agricultural enterprises worked by slave labor , until 1777 when John Dickinson freed the enslaved of Poplar Hall. Samuel Dickinson married Judith Troth (1689–1729) on April 11, 1710. They had nine children; William, Walter, Samuel, Elizabeth, Henry, Elizabeth "Betsy", Rebecca, and Rachel. The three eldest sons died of smallpox while in London seeking their education. Widowed with two young children, Henry and Betsy, Samuel married Mary Cadwalader in 1731. She
6890-463: The Meeting in Philadelphia. But in 1739, John Dickinson's half-sister, Betsy, was married in an Anglican church to Charles Goldsborough in what was called a "disorderly marriage" by the Meeting. The couple would be the grandparents of Maryland Governor Charles Goldsborough . Leaving Croisadore to elder son Henry Dickinson, Samuel moved to Poplar Hall, where he had already taken a leading role in
7020-692: The Pennsylvania State University), separate institutions each operating a campus located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on land inherited and managed by his wife Mary Norris, were named for them. Dickinson College was originally named "John and Mary's College" but was renamed to avoid an implication of royalty by confusion with "William and Mary." And along with his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania , Dickinson also authored The Liberty Song . Dickinson Street in Madison, Wisconsin ,
7150-403: The Senate returned the Bill of Rights to the House led to a conference committee composed of members of both bodies. The members of the committee from the House proposed that the jury simply be defined as comporting with "the accustomed requisites". The members of the committee from the Senate were opposed to constitutionalizing the vicinage requirement, believing that the vicinage provisions of
7280-413: The Supreme Court increased the scope of the Confrontation Clause by ruling that "testimonial" out-of-court statements are inadmissible if the accused did not have the opportunity to cross-examine that accuser and that accuser is unavailable at trial. In Davis v. Washington 547 U.S. 813 (2006), the Court ruled that "testimonial" refers to any statement that an objectively reasonable person in
7410-538: The Supreme Court invalidated a state law that exempted women who had not made a declaration of willingness to serve from jury service, while not doing the same for men. In Apprendi v. New Jersey , 530 U.S. 466 (2000), and Blakely v. Washington , 542 U.S. 296 (2004), the Supreme Court ruled that a criminal defendant has a right to a jury trial not only on the question of guilt or innocence, but also regarding any fact used to increase
7540-431: The Supreme Court ruled that if the reviewing court finds that a defendant's right to a speedy trial was violated, then the indictment must be dismissed and any conviction overturned. The Court held that, since the delayed trial is the state action which violates the defendant's rights, no other remedy would be appropriate. Thus, a reversal or dismissal of a criminal case on speedy trial grounds means no further prosecution for
7670-415: The Supreme Court ruled that the place where the offense is charged to have occurred determines a trial's location. Where multiple districts are alleged to have been locations of the crime, any of them may be chosen for the trial. In cases of offenses not committed in any state (for example, offenses committed at sea), the place of trial may be determined by the Congress. Unlike other Sixth Amendment guarantees,
7800-509: The Supreme Court ruled that while a defendant's out of court statements were admissible in proving the defendant's guilt, they were inadmissible hearsay against another defendant. Hearsay may, in some circumstances, be admitted though it is not covered by one of the long-recognized exceptions. For example, prior testimony may sometimes be admitted if the witness is unavailable. However, in Crawford v. Washington , 541 U.S. 36 (2004),
7930-414: The Supreme Court ruled the right to pro se representation did not apply to appellate courts. In Indiana v. Edwards , 554 U.S. 164 (2008), the Court ruled that a criminal defendant could be simultaneously competent to stand trial, but not competent to represent himself. In Bounds v. Smith , 430 U.S. 817 (1977), the Supreme Court held that the constitutional right of "meaningful access to
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#17327972848618060-450: The United States, except for serious offenses (such as murder ), minors are usually tried in a juvenile court , which lessens the sentence allowed, but forfeits the right to a jury. Originally, the Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial indicated a right to "a trial by jury as understood and applied at common law , and includes all the essential elements as they were recognized in this country and England when
8190-411: The United States, in any other state than that wherein the offense shall be committed . . . ." The proposals of Alexander Hamilton and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney were similar. The Committee of Detail and Committee of the Whole amended this language and included it within Article Three, Section Two, Clause Three . Article III provides: "The Trial of all Crimes . . . shall be held in the State where
8320-409: The accused's defense, even if the trial judge rules that defense to be misleading. In the late 20th and early 21st century this clause became an issue in the use of the silent witness rule . The Compulsory Process Clause gives any criminal defendant the right to call witnesses in his favor. If any such witness refuses to testify, that witness may be compelled to do so by the court at the request of
8450-441: The alleged offense can take place. In Sheppard v. Maxwell , 384 U.S. 333 (1966), the Supreme Court ruled that the right to a public trial is not absolute. In cases where excess publicity would serve to undermine the defendant's right to due process, limitations can be put on public access to the proceedings. According to Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court , 478 U.S. 1 (1986), trials can be closed at
8580-536: The banks of the Choptank River , Walter began a plantation, Croisadore , meaning "cross of gold." Walter also bought 800 acres (3.2 km ) on St. Jones Neck in what became Kent County, Delaware . Croisadore passed through Walter's son, William, to his grandson, Samuel, the father of John Dickinson. Each generation increased the landholdings so that Samuel inherited 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) on five farms in three Maryland counties; over his lifetime he increased that to 9,000 acres (3,600 ha). He also bought
8710-493: The behest of the government if there is "an overriding interest based on findings that closure is essential to preserve higher values and is narrowly tailored to serve that interest". The accused may also request a closure of the trial; though, it must be demonstrated that "first, there is a substantial probability that the defendant's right to a fair trial will be prejudiced by publicity that closure would prevent, and second, reasonable alternatives to closure cannot adequately protect
8840-447: The burgeoning Revolution or independence, except protest. The Radicals took matters into their own hands, using irregular means to write the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 , which by law excluded from the franchise anyone who would not swear loyalty to the document or the Christian Holy Trinity . In this way, all Loyalists, moderate Whigs, and Quakers were kept out of government. This peremptory action seemed appropriate to many during
8970-436: The chair after most of the work was complete, he remained highly influential in the content of the final document. Major changes included the establishment of a separate Chancery Court and the expansion of the franchise to include all taxpayers. Dickinson remained neutral in an attempt to include a prohibition of slavery in the document, believing the General Assembly was the proper place to decide that issue. The new Constitution
9100-422: The colony where the crime is alleged to have happened) and Anti-federalist objections to the United States Constitution . The clause is one of the few constitutional criminal procedure provisions that has not been incorporated to apply to proceedings in state courts, the other being the Grand Jury Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The Clause has led to very little litigation, in part because of its overlap (as
9230-404: The committee charged with drafting the Articles of Confederation, Dickinson was serving in the Continental Congress as a delegate from the Province of Pennsylvania. When the Second Continental Congress began the debate on the Declaration of Independence on July 1, 1776, Dickinson reiterated his opposition to declaring independence at that time. Dickinson believed that the Congress should complete
9360-471: The committee that wrote the Model Treaty , a template for seeking alliances with foreign countries, but he opposed independence from Great Britain. He either abstained or was absent from the vote on the Declaration of Independence and refused to sign the document after its passage. Nevertheless, Dickinson wrote the first draft of the 1776–1777 Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union and served as
9490-462: The community as judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Kent County. The move also placed Mary nearer her Philadelphia relations. Poplar Hall was situated on an artificially straightened section of the St. Jones River. There was plenty of activity delivering the necessities and shipping the agricultural products produced. Much of this product was wheat that along with other wheat from the region, was milled into
9620-520: The community; the defendant might establish that the requirement was violated by showing that the allegedly excluded group is a "distinctive" one in the community, that the representation of such a group in venires is unreasonable and unfair in regard to the number of persons belonging to such a group, and that the under-representation is caused by a systematic exclusion in the selection process. Thus, in Taylor v. Louisiana , 419 U.S. 522 (1975),
9750-466: The council and thereby president of Pennsylvania. But he did not actually resign as president of Delaware. Even though Pennsylvania and Delaware shared the same governor until very recently, attitudes were changing, and many in Delaware were upset at seemingly being cast aside so readily, particularly after Philadelphia newspapers began criticizing Delaware for permitting its office holders to be non-residents. Dickinson's constitutional successor, John Cook ,
9880-458: The courts" can be satisfied by counsel or access to legal materials. Bounds has been interpreted by several United States courts of appeals to mean a pro se defendant does not have a constitutional right to access a prison law library to research his defense when access to the courts has been provided through appointed counsel. John Dickinson (politician) John Dickinson (November 13, [ O.S. November 2] 1732 – February 14, 1808),
10010-522: The crises of 1777 and 1778 but less so in the later years of the Revolution, and the moderate Whigs gradually became the majority. Dickinson's election to the Supreme Executive Council was the beginning of a counterrevolution against the Constitutionalists. He was elected president of Pennsylvania on November 7, 1782, garnering 41 votes to James Potter 's 32. As president he presided over the intentionally weak executive authority of
10140-593: The damage, and remained there for several months. In October 1781, while at Poplar Hall, Dickinson was elected to represent Kent County in the State Senate . Shortly after, the Delaware General Assembly elected him president of Delaware. The General Assembly's vote was nearly unanimous; the only dissenting vote was cast by Dickinson himself. Dickinson took office on November 13, 1781, and served until November 7, 1782. Beginning his term with
10270-410: The declarant's situation would believe likely to be used in court. In Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts , 557 U.S. 305 (2009), and Bullcoming v. New Mexico , 564 U.S. 647 (2011), the Court ruled that admitting a lab chemist's analysis into evidence, without having him testify, violated the Confrontation Clause. In Michigan v. Bryant , 562 U.S. 344 (2011),
10400-429: The defendant's right to a fair trial." The right to a jury has always depended on the nature of the offense with which the defendant is charged. Petty offenses—those punishable by imprisonment for no more than six months—are not covered by the jury requirement. Even where multiple petty offenses are concerned, the total time of imprisonment possibly exceeding six months, the right to a jury trial does not exist. Also, in
10530-427: The defendant's sentence beyond the maximum otherwise allowed by statutes or sentencing guidelines. In Alleyne v. United States , 570 U.S. 99 (2013), the Court expanded on Apprendi and Blakely by ruling that a defendant's right to a jury applies to any fact that would increase a defendant's sentence beyond the minimum otherwise required by statute. In United States v. Haymond , 588 U.S. ___ (2019),
10660-431: The defendant. However, in some cases the court may refuse to permit a defense witness to testify. For example, if a defense lawyer fails to notify the prosecution of the identity of a witness to gain a tactical advantage, that witness may be precluded from testifying. A criminal defendant has the right to be assisted by counsel. In Powell v. Alabama , 287 U.S. 45 (1932), the Supreme Court ruled that "in
10790-749: The delicate negotiations then underway to end the American Revolution, Dickinson secured the Assembly's continued endorsement of the French alliance, with no agreement on a separate peace treaty with Great Britain. On October 10, 1782, Dickinson was elected to the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania . On November 7, 1782, a joint ballot by the Council and the Pennsylvania General Assembly elected him as president of
10920-496: The district need only be ascertained prior to trial. Even proponents of the former view have found no infirmity when Congress prospectively divides a judicial district but retains the former configuration for past offenses. The Third , Fifth , and Sixth Circuits have held that the Vicinage Clause was not incorporated against the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court has not yet heard an appeal on
11050-402: The district. Nor does the Clause prevent the jury from being drawn solely from a judicial division, or any other subset of a judicial district (rather than the entire judicial district). The "wherein the crime shall have been committed" language of the clause is in parallel with the venue provision of Article Three—"where the said Crimes shall have been committed."—and with Rule 18 of
11180-539: The effort to create a strong central government but only after the Great Compromise assured that each state, regardless of size, would have an equal vote in the future United States Senate . As he had done with the Articles, he also carefully drafted it with the term "Person" rather than "Man" as was used in the Declaration of Independence. He prepared initial drafts of the First Amendment . Following
11310-491: The finishing blow to my once too great and, my integrity considered, now too diminished popularity." Dickinson refused to sign the declaration, and since a proposal had been brought forth and carried that stated "for our mutual security and protection", no man could remain in the Continental Congress without signing it, so Dickinson voluntarily departed and joined the Pennsylvania patriot militia. John Adams ,
11440-561: The first of the advocates for the rights of his country when assailed by Great Britain" and called him "one of the great worthies of the revolution." Together with his wife Mary Norris Dickinson , he is the namesake of Dickinson College , Penn State Dickinson Law , and the Dickinson Complex at the University of Delaware . John Dickinson High School in Wilmington, Delaware , was dedicated in his honor in 1959. Dickinson
11570-481: The first of the advocates for the rights of his country when assailed by Great Britain, he continued to the last the orthodox advocate of the true principles of our new government and his name will be consecrated in history as one of the great worthies of the revolution." He shares with Thomas McKean the distinction of serving as chief executive of both Delaware and Pennsylvania after the Declaration of Independence. Dickinson College and Dickinson School of Law (now of
11700-542: The following weekday. The State Legislative Council was created in 1776, and its legislative councilmen served a three-year term. Beginning in 1792, it was renamed the State Senate. State Assemblymen had a one-year term. The whole General Assembly chose the state president for a three-year term. Pennsylvania elections were also held in October. Assemblymen had a one-year term. The Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council
11830-655: The forum of his home, and the tribunal of his vicinage". Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Sixth Amendment ( Amendment VI ) to the United States Constitution sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions. It was ratified in 1791 as part of the United States Bill of Rights . The Supreme Court has applied all but one of this amendment's protections to
11960-608: The government and the defendant can in some cases request a closed trial. The Sixth Amendment requires that criminal defendants be given notice of the nature and cause of accusations against them. The amendment's Confrontation Clause gives criminal defendants the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses, while the Compulsory Process Clause gives criminal defendants the right to call their own witnesses and, in some cases, compel witnesses to testify. The Assistance of Counsel Clause grants criminal defendants
12090-442: The government might make in favor of prosecution would be unsuccessful: that the Idaho portion of the park is not part of a state and that the judicial district could be changed after the crime. However, Kalt argues that the Vicinage Clause might permit a variety of prosecutorial strategies that would at least partially close this loophole. First, the government might be able to charge other crimes that did not occur exclusively within
12220-402: The indictment free of charge. The Confrontation Clause relates to the common law rule preventing the admission of hearsay , that is to say, testimony by one witness as to the statements and observations of another person to prove that the statement or observation was true. The rationale was that the defendant had no opportunity to challenge the credibility of and cross-examine the person making
12350-430: The lives of strong Quaker women. As a lawyer, Dickinson often defended poor women in court, including Rachel Francisco, a "free mollato " who had been charged with infanticide. In 1776, while drafting the Articles of Confederation , Dickinson proposed the first gender inclusive language in an American constitution. In the proposed religious liberty clause, he wrote "No person or persons in any Colony living peaceably under
12480-496: The matter. A lower federal appeals court in Zicarelli v. Gray (3d Cir. 1976), however, "assumed" that the vicinage right applied at the state level. In 2005, Professor Brian C. Kalt of Michigan State University College of Law put forth an argument that the Vicinage Clause, requiring jury selection from the state and district, may permit the commission of the " perfect crime " (technically, more of an "unprosecutable crime") in
12610-553: The most influential American political documents prior to the American Revolution . Dickinson argued that the British Parliament had the right to regulate commerce but lacked the right to levy duties for revenue. Dickinson further warned that if the colonies acquiesced to the Townshend Acts, Parliament would lay further taxes on the colonies in the future. After publishing these letters, he was elected in 1768 to
12740-446: The perversion of history and applied them to its proper use according to his understanding. His religiosity contributed heavily to his discernment of politics. Quakers disseminated their theologico-political thought aggressively and retained a significant measure of political influence. Dickinson's political thought, given his education and religion, was influential towards the founding of the United States. The political theory of Quakers
12870-476: The philosophic tenets of the Puritan Revolution that his theories were of enormous importance in the formation of the Constitution, and have considerable meaning for us today." His studies of history and religious viewpoints had a profound impact on his political thought and actions. Dickinson incorporated his learning and religious beliefs to counteract what he considered the mischief flowing from
13000-493: The portion of Yellowstone National Park within the state of Idaho and that a less perfect crime could be committed in the lightly populated portion of the park contained within the borders of the state of Montana. The entire park has been placed within the jurisdiction of the Court for the District of Wyoming , but the Idaho-state portion of the park has no residents with which to form a jury. Kalt argues that two arguments
13130-401: The prosecution must present physical evidence to the jury, providing the defense ample opportunity to cross-examine its validity and meaning. Prosecution generally may not refer to evidence without first presenting it. In Hemphill v. New York , No. 20-637 , 595 U.S. ___ (2022), the Court ruled the accused had to be given an opportunity to cross-examine a witness called to rebut
13260-611: The rank of brigadier general and led 10,000 soldiers to Elizabeth, New Jersey , to protect that area against British attack from Staten Island . But because of his unpopular opinion abstaining from supporting independence, two junior officers were promoted above him. Dickinson resigned his commission in December 1776 and went to stay at Poplar Hall in Kent County . While there, Dickinson learned that his home on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia had been confiscated and converted into
13390-693: The residence of the French ambassador and then the residence of Dickinson's brother, Philemon Dickinson. On October 4, 1777, Fair Hill was burned by the British during the Battle of Germantown . While in Philadelphia as state president , Dickinson lived at the confiscated mansion of Joseph Galloway at Sixth and Market Streets , which is now the State Presidential Mansion. Dickinson lived at Poplar Hall for extended periods from 1776 to 1777 and from 1781 to 1782. In August 1781, Poplar Hall
13520-400: The right to be assisted by counsel. In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) and subsequent cases, the Supreme Court held that a public defender must be provided to criminal defendants unable to afford an attorney in all trials where the defendant faces the possibility of imprisonment. The Supreme Court has incorporated (protected at the state level) all Sixth Amendment protections except one: having
13650-462: The right to counsel. In Faretta v. California , 422 U.S. 806 (1975), the Supreme Court recognized a defendant's right to pro se representation. However, under Godinez v. Moran , 509 U.S. 389 (1993), a court that believes the defendant is less than fully competent to represent himself can require that defendant to be assisted by counsel. In Martinez v. Court of Appeal of California , 528 U.S. 152 (2000),
13780-642: The said Crimes shall have been committed." This provision received almost no debate in the Constitutional Convention. The omission of a vicinage right from the United States Constitution was among the objections of the Anti-federalists to the ratification of the Constitution. James Madison explained the omission of a vicinage clause in the Virginia Ratifying Convention as follows: Virginia ratified
13910-415: The same is found; the court determines the validity of these challenges for cause. Defendants may not challenge a conviction because a challenge for cause was denied incorrectly if they had the opportunity to use peremptory challenges . In Peña-Rodriguez v. Colorado (2017), the Supreme Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment requires a court in a criminal trial to investigate whether a jury's guilty verdict
14040-413: The state and was its chief officer but always required the agreement of a majority to act. He was re-elected twice and served the constitutional maximum of three years; his election on November 6, 1783, was unanimous. On November 6, 1784, he defeated John Neville , who also lost the election for vice president the same day. Working with small majorities in the General Assembly in his first two years and with
14170-571: The statements. Certain exceptions to the hearsay rule have been permitted; for instance, admissions by the defendant are admissible, as are dying declarations. Nevertheless, in California v. Green , 399 U.S. 149 (1970), the Supreme Court has held that the hearsay rule is not the same as the Confrontation Clause. Hearsay is admissible under certain circumstances. For example, in Bruton v. United States , 391 U.S. 123 (1968),
14300-441: The states for ratification). The ratifying provisos of Massachusetts did not include a vicinage right; a proviso including a vicinage right was considered and rejected in Pennsylvania. James Madison 's (A-VA) original draft of the jury provision of the Sixth Amendment provided: Madison intended this language to replace Article Three, Section Two, Clause Three, rather than be appended to the Constitution. The Committee of Eleven of
14430-486: The states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment . The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants nine different rights, including the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury consisting of jurors from the state and district in which the crime was alleged to have been committed. Under the impartial jury requirement, jurors must be unbiased, and the jury must consist of
14560-559: The witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. Criminal defendants have the right to a speedy trial. In Barker v. Wingo , 407 U.S. 514 (1972), the Supreme Court laid down a four-part case-by-case balancing test for determining whether the defendant's speedy trial right has been violated. The four factors are: In Strunk v. United States , 412 U.S. 434 (1973),
14690-474: Was a violent protest of Pennsylvania veterans who marched on the Continental Congress demanding their pay before being discharged from the Continental Army . Somewhat sympathizing with their case, Dickinson refused Congress's request to bring full military action against them, causing Congress to vote to remove themselves to Princeton, New Jersey . And when the new Congress agreed to return in 1790, it
14820-482: Was amended in 1790 to say "vicinage". By contrast, four of the original thirteen state constitutions contained explicit criminal venue provisions. New Hampshire (1784) and Georgia (1777 and 1789) required crimes to be tried in the county where committed. Maryland (1776) and Massachusetts (1780) contained similar provisions. In Coleman's Appeal (1874), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that "a man shall only be liable to be called on to answer for civil wrongs in
14950-510: Was an early feminist , partly attributable to Quaker culture. He believed that women were spiritually equal to men and deserved equal religious rights. Unlike many men of the era, Dickinson sought and took political counsel from women, particularly from his wife and his mother. Dickinson was also good friends with Quaker feminist Susanna Wright and corresponded with Catharine Macaulay and Mercy Otis Warren . He encouraged both Warren and Macaulay to continue writing. He bought books that detailed
15080-505: Was approved June 12, 1792. Dickinson had freed his slaves conditionally in 1776 and fully by 1787. Dickinson returned to the State Senate for the 1793 session but served just one year before resigning because of his declining health. In his final years, he worked to further the abolition movement and donated a considerable amount of his wealth to the "relief of the unhappy". In 1801, Dickinson published two volumes of his collected works on politics. Dickinson died at Wilmington, Delaware , and
15210-399: Was based on racial bias. For a guilty verdict to be set aside based on the racial bias of a juror, the defendant must prove that the racial bias "was a significant motivating factor in the juror's vote to convict". Another factor in determining the impartiality of the jury is the nature of the panel, or venire, from which the jurors are selected. Venires must represent a fair cross-section of
15340-679: Was born at Alabama , his family's tobacco plantation near the village of Trappe in Talbot County , Province of Maryland . He was the great-grandson of Walter Dickinson who came from England as an indentured servant to the Colony of Virginia in 1654 and, having joined the Society of Friends , came with several co-religionists to Talbot County on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in 1659. There, with 400 acres (1.6 km ) on
15470-804: Was buried in Friends Burial Ground in Wilmington. Shortly before his death he unconditionally freed all of his slaves. While he had been economically reliant on them, he also wanted slavery to end. By freeing all of his slaves upon his death, he thought this would contribute to the United States having a future without slavery. Like many of the founders he believed slavery would die "a natural death." In an original letter discovered November 2009 from Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Bringhurst, caretaker of Dickinson in his later years, Jefferson responds to news of Dickinson's death: "A more estimable man, or truer patriot, could not have left us. Among
15600-521: Was considered too weak in his support of the Revolution. On January 12, 1783, Cook called for a new election to choose a replacement, leading Dickinson to formally resign. When the American Revolution began, Dickinson fairly represented centrist views in Pennsylvania politics at a time when views varied over independence. The Pennsylvania General Assembly at the time was dominated by the Loyalists and moderates who, like Dickinson, did little to support
15730-425: Was convening at what today is Independence Hall in Philadelphia . During this term, he signed the Articles of Confederation , which he authored while serving in the First Continental Congress as a delegate from Province of Pennsylvania . In August 1781, while still a delegate in Philadelphia, he learned that Poplar Hall had been severely damaged by a Loyalist raid. Dickinson returned to the property to investigate
15860-433: Was facilitated by the fact that his farm had moved away from farming tobacco to less labor-intensive crops, including wheat and barley. Dickinson was the only Founding Father to free his slaves prior to 1786 when others also began doing so, except for Benjamin Franklin , who had freed his slaves by 1770. On January 18, 1779, Dickinson was appointed to be a delegate for Delaware to the Second Continental Congress , which
15990-573: Was influenced by his Quaker affiliation and upbringing. As Dickinson grew to learn more about historical movements, however, he came to embrace the Revolutionary cause. Dickinson was very careful and refined in thought. Dickinson wrote in 1767, "We cannot act with too much caution in our disputes. Anger produces anger; and differences, that might be accommodated by kind and respectful behavior, may, by imprudence, be enlarged to an incurable rage." He did not behave rashly, insisting that prudence
16120-432: Was informed by their theology and ecclesiology , consequently Dickinson applied his religious beliefs and his belief in adhering to the letter of the law in his approach to the Constitution, referring to his historical knowledge as he did so. Quakers did use secular history as a guide for their political direction, and they considered scripture the most important historical source. Jane Calvert has argued that Dickinson
16250-507: Was precocious and energetic and in spite of his love of Poplar Hall, and his family was drawn to Philadelphia . At age 18, Dickinson began studying law under John Moland in Philadelphia. While there, he became friends with fellow students George Read , Samuel Wharton , and others. In 1753, he went to London for three years of study at the Middle Temple . He spent those years studying the works of Edward Coke and Francis Bacon at
16380-538: Was sacked by Loyalists and was badly burned in 1804. It is now owned by the state of Delaware and is open to the public. In 1785, following his service as president of Pennsylvania, Dickinson lived in Wilmington, Delaware , and built a mansion at the northwest corner of 8th and Market Streets in Center City Philadelphia . Dickinson was one of the delegates from the Province of Pennsylvania to
16510-619: Was the daughter of Martha Jones, the granddaughter of Dr. Thomas Wynne , and the prominent Quaker John Cadwalader, who was the grandfather of General John Cadwalader of Philadelphia . Their sons, John, Thomas, and Philemon were born in the next few years. For three generations the Dickinson family had been members of the Third Haven Friends Meeting in Talbot County, and the Cadwaladers were members of
16640-667: Was the daughter of wealthy Philadelphia Quaker and Speaker of the Pennsylvania General Assembly Isaac Norris and Sarah Logan, the daughter of James Logan . She was also cousin to the Quaker poet Hannah Griffitts . Dickinson and Norris had five children, but only two survived to adulthood: Sarah Norris "Sally" Dickinson and Maria Mary Dickinson. Dickinson never formally joined the Quaker Meeting because, as he explained, he believed in
16770-402: Was the key to great politics. Dickinson used his study of history and furthered his education to become a lawyer, which exposed him to more historical schooling. His education and religion allowed him to make important political decisions based on reason and sound judgment. John Powell states, "...these forces of Puritanism had a vigorous expression. It is precisely because Dickinson epitomized
16900-549: Was to be for only 10 years, until a permanent capital was found elsewhere. After his service in Pennsylvania, Dickinson returned to Wilmington, Delaware , where he was quickly appointed to represent Delaware at the Annapolis Convention , where he served as its president. In 1787, Delaware sent him as one of its delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 , along with Gunning Bedford Jr. , Richard Bassett , George Read, and Jacob Broom . There, he supported
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