United States v. Wiltberger

Wiltberger (defendant) was charged with manslaughter for conduct aboard an American ship on the Tigris River in China, well upstream and in fresh water. The relevant federal statute punished manslaughter committed on the "high seas." A Pennsylvania jury convicted Wiltberger, but the circuit judges split on whether the court even had jurisdiction over conduct on an inland river, and certified that jurisdictional question to the Supreme Court.