United States v. Smith

Thomas Smith (defendant) crewed a ship commissioned by the Buenos Ayres government. In international waters, the crew seized and plundered a Spanish vessel. Federal law punished piracy, as defined by international law, with death if the offender was later found in the United States. Smith was indicted for piracy, and a special jury verdict asked only whether his conduct was piracy under international law. That question reached the Supreme Court. Smith argued Congress itself had to spell out a definition of piracy rather than borrow one from international law.