Finally, through clever manipulation of the voting process, Hamilton secured the presidency for Jefferson and Burr automatically became VICE Congress passed theTWELFTH AMENDMENT, which m
Trang 1window, burglary was not committed The same rule applied when a door or window was partially open even though it was necessary to open it further in order to enter The rationale underlying this rule was that one who failed to secure his or her dwelling was not entitled to the protection of the law A majority of states no longer follow this rule and consider breaking to
be the slightest application of force to gain entry through a partially accessible opening
When entry is gained by aMISREPRESENTATION
of identity or by any other trick, it is called constructive breaking, which satisfies the break-ing requirement of burglary However, if a person, such as a servant, has authority to enter, there is no breaking unless he or she breaks into and enters an unauthorized area
Under the common law, the breaking had
to occur immediately before the time of entry
Most jurisdictions that retain the breaking element are in agreement; in others, the break-ing can occur durbreak-ing a REASONABLE TIME before the entry Some jurisdictions have completely eliminated the element of breaking from the statutory definition of burglary, while others require it for one degree of burglary but not another
Entry In the course of a burglary, entry is the act that follows the breaking Literally, it occurs when there is physical intrusion into another’s dwelling or building by any part of the intruder’s body A momentary intrusion will suffice When
a thief kicks open a window to gain access to a dwelling, the momentary insertion of the foot constitutes an entry
When an instrument is used to gain access
to a dwelling, the intrusion of the instrument is not an entry unless it is used to accomplish the intended felony If the instrument is used to take something from inside the building, there
is an entry sufficient for burglary
An entry may be constructive In other words, it is not always required that the thief enter the dwelling If he or she directs another person not legally capable of committing the offense, such as a child, to enter, then the entry
is imputed to the thief
In jurisdictions where breaking is an element of burglary, there must be causation between the breaking and entry Although the acts may occur at separate times depending upon statute, the entry must follow from the
breaking Where a hole is drilled into a wall on one day and entry occurs a few days later, there
is a causal link between the breaking and entry Dwelling At common law, the entry had to be into the dwelling of another to constitute the offense A dwelling was defined as a house or mansion where one normally sleeps, although it was not necessary that it be occupied at the time
of entry Structures and premises immediately surrounding the dwelling, such as an outhouse
or a yard, were also protected since they were considered part of the dwelling
A dwelling had to be a place of human habitation and occupancy A storehouse pro-tected by a nightwatchman was not a dwelling even if he occasionally slept in it If, however, it was within the immediate surroundings of a dwelling, it would be treated as a dwelling for purposes of burglary
In the early 2000s, most jurisdictions have expanded the common-law requirement that the offense take place in a dwelling There is no jurisdiction that retains this requirement for all degrees of burglary Under modern statutes, the offense can occur in any enclosed structure, regardless of whether it is used for habitation Nighttime The requirement that the breaking and entering occur at night was an essential element of the offense at common law Sunrise and sunset were not the means of determining night and day The proper test was whether the countenance of a human could be discerned by natural light
Many jurisdictions no longer require that the offense occur at night Some states have retained
it for higher degrees of the offense, but do not require it for all degrees Under statutes retaining the nighttime element, it is defined as occurring
30 minutes before sunrise or 30 minutes after sunset It is not necessary that all acts be done on the same night If the breaking and entering is done one night and the felony is committed a few nights later, the offense is committed Intent Under the common law, an intent to commit a felony at the time of breaking and entering into the dwelling was an essential element of burglary SinceLARCENYwas a felony
at common law, an intent to commit a larceny would suffice Statutes vary from one jurisdic-tion to another An intent to commit a felony is
no longer required for all grades of the offense
In some states an intent to commit any crime
178 BURGLARY
Trang 2will suffice Many states have retained the felony
requirement for higher grades of the offense
Absent this intent element, a breaking and entry
might be a trespass, but not be a burglary
If a defense to the underlying crime or
felony is sufficiently established, there can be no
conviction for burglary For example, if a
person charged with burglary is accused of
larceny and has a sufficient defense to the
larceny charge, then there is no burglary
Degrees of the Offense
Some jurisdictions have a statutory scheme
under which the offense is divided into degrees
These types of statutes frequently impose
heavier penalties when the offense involves the
use of force orWEAPONS Under one such statute,
burglary in theTHIRD DEGREE is committed by a
person KNOWINGLY entering or remaining
un-lawfully in a building with an intent to commit
a crime therein When the same offense is
committed with explosives or deadly weapons,
or when it results in physical injury to a person
who is not a participant in the crime, it is
burglary in the first degree, for which there is a
greater penalty
burglary Under statutes in many states, the
severity of the sentence is determined by the
degree of the burglary
FURTHER READINGS
Allen, Michael 2005 Textbook on Criminal Law New York:
Oxford Univ Press.
Cromwell, Paul F., and James N Olson 2003 Breaking
and Entering: Burglars and Burglary Florence, KY:
Wadsworth.
Smith, J.C 1997 Law of Theft New York: LexisNexis.
Thomas, D.A 2003 “Domestic Burglary—Sentencing
Guidelines ” Criminal Law Review (March).
vBURKE, EDMUND Edmund Burke was an orator, philosophical writer, political theorist, and member of Parlia-ment who helped shape political thought in England and the United States during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
Burke was born January 12, 1729, in Dublin, Ireland, to a Protestant father and a Roman Catholic mother His father, a prosperous Dublin attorney, was cold and authoritarian, and the two did not enjoy a close relationship
After graduating from Trinity College, Dublin,
in 1750, Burke traveled to England to study law
in accord with his father’s wishes However, he did not progress in his legal studies, and he
Edmund Burke 1729–1797
❖
◆
1729 Born,
Dublin, Ireland
1756 A Vindication of Natural Society
published anonymously
1759 Founded
the Annual Register
1765–66 Elected
to Parliament;
served as private secretary to the Marquis of Rockingham, the prime minister
1776 American colonies declared independence from Great Britain
1774–80 Served again in Parliament
as representative from Bristol
1790 Reflections
on the Revolution in France published
1797 Died, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England
Edmund Burke.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
ALL GOVERNMENT— INDEED,EVERY HUMAN BENEFIT AND ENJOYMENT,EVERY VIRTUE AND EVERY PRUDENT ACT—IS FOUNDED ON COMPROMISE AND BARTER
—E DMUND B URKE
BURKE, EDMUND 179
Trang 3eventually abandoned the law in favor of a literary career
In 1756 Burke published two philosophical treatises, A Vindication of Natural Society and A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful These and other works launched Burke’s career as a critic of social and political issues Burke became a member of the literary circle headed by Samuel Johnson, the English author, scholar, and critic In 1759 Burke founded the Annual Register, a yearly survey of world affairs to which he contributed until 1788
Realizing that the literary life would not pay enough to support a family, Burke entered politics In 1765 he was appointed private secretary to the Marquis of Rockingham, Eng-land’s prime minister and a member of theWHIG PARTY, marking the beginning of a lifelong alliance between Burke and Rockingham and the Whigs
Burke was also elected to Parliament in 1765 In
1766 Rockingham lost the premiership Burke was offered employment with the new adminis-tration, but chose to remain with the Whig opposition “I believe in any body of men in England I should have been in the minority,” he said.“I have always been in the minority.”
Burke believed strongly in opposition poli-tics Having a party that acts as a watchdog for
avoid corruption and ABUSE OF POWER As a member of the opposition, Burke could do what
he did best: criticize the government for what
he considered unjust or unwise policies He disagreed with England’s policies in North America and urged the government to abolish the tea duty imposed on the colonies “All government—indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act—
is founded on compromise and barter,” he said
in 1775, in his Speech on Conciliation with America However, despite his dissatisfaction with English policy, he did not support the American revolutionaries Although he believed that the British had been overly harsh and tyrannical, he also believed in the legislative superiority of the British Parliament over the colonies In August, 1776, he expressed his despair over the conflict between England and its North American colonies: “I do not know how to wish success to those whose victory is to separate us from a large and noble part of our empire,” he wrote “Still less do I wish success
to injustice, OPPRESSION, and absurdity No
good can come of any event in this war to any virtuous interest.”
Burke vociferously criticized the British government’s policies in Ireland as well, and decried the poverty and persecution of Catho-lics there Yet, although his sympathies were clearly with the oppressed and powerless in Ireland, he again opposed revolution and urged moderation on both sides “I believe there are very few cases which will justify a revolt against the established government of a country, let its constitution be what it will,” he said
Burke’s support for established order, even where it meant support for inequalities, was most evident in his harsh criticism of the French Revolution “[T]he age of chivalry is gone,” he wrote in Reflections on the Revolution in France
“That of sophisters, economists and calculators has succeeded; and the glory of Europe is gone forever.” According to Burke, the French revolu-tionaries’ only purpose was to destroy all traditional authority and property rights The result, he predicted, would be anarchy and the emergence of an autocratic ruler whose reign would be worse than any the revolutionaries had seen before Burke’s prediction proved accurate: the revolution in France led to the Reign of Terror and the regime of Napoleon
In hisCONDEMNATIONof the French Revolu-tion, Burke presaged American thought on the importance of private property to the preserva-tion of societal harmony Stephen B Presser, associate dean and professor at Northwestern University School of Law, wrote that
Burke’s attacks on the French, and his spirited defense of private property as a guarantee of order, stability, and prosperity have echoed through the arguments of American judges and statesmen
Burke’s strongest criticism of British policy came in the 1780s when he instigated IMPEACH-MENT proceedings against Warren Hastings, governor-general of India Burke attacked the British East India Company as unjust and oppressive in its treatment of the Indian people
In his Speech on Opening the ARTICLES OF
asserted his belief that the exercise of arbitrary political power is never justified.“My Lords the King has no arbitrary power to give him [Hastings], your Lordships have not, nor the commons, nor the whole Legislature We have
no arbitrary power to give, because arbitrary
180 BURKE, EDMUND
Trang 4power is a thing, which neither any man can
hold nor any man can give.” Burke’s view that
political power is held in trust for the benefit of
the people is reflected in the basic tenets of U.S
democracy and is at the core of the United
States’ republican form of government
Burke has been claimed as a champion of
both liberals and conservatives His
denuncia-tion of oppression in India, Ireland, and North
America and his staunch opposition to the
exercise of arbitrary power endeared him to
libertarians and proponents of individual rights
However, his strong faith in established
politi-cal, religious, and social institutions, and his
fear of reform beyond limitations on sovereign
power, reverberate in contemporary
conserva-tism Likewise, his support for CIVIL RIGHTSwas
tempered with a strong belief in the necessity of
individual responsibility In 1791, he wrote, in A
Letter to a Member of the National Assembly,
Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact
proportion to their disposition to put moral
chains upon their own appetites; in
propor-tion as their love to justice is above their
rapacity; in proportion as their soundness
and sobriety of understanding is above their
vanity and presumption; in proportion as
they are more disposed to listen to the
counsels of the wise and good, in preference
to the flattery of knaves
Burke was firmly opposed to the
substitu-tion of government assistance for individual
initiative In Thoughts and Details on Scarcity
(1795), he cautioned against “attempts to feed
the people out of the hands of the magistrates.”
He seemed to predict the modern quagmire of
having looked to government for bread, on
the very first scarcity they will turn and bite the
hand that fed them To avoid that evil,
government will redouble the causes of it; and
then it will become inveterate and incurable.”
The last few years of Burke’s life were marred by the death of his only son, Richard Burke, in 1794 With his wife, Jane Nugent Burke, whom he had married in 1757, Burke had established the harmonious family life he had never known as a child The premature loss
of his son, and the concomitant demise of Burke’s dreams and plans for the young man’s future, left Burke disconsolate Although he continued his activities in politics, particularly
in the formation of the Irish government, his personal life was clouded with disappointment and bitterness Burke died three years after his son, on July 9, 1797; yet two hundred years after his death, his philosophies continued to reso-nate on both sides of the Atlantic
FURTHER READINGS Crowe, Ian, ed 1997 Edmund Burke: His Life and Legacy.
Dublin, Ireland: Four Courts.
Kirk, Russell 2001 The Conservative Mind from Burke to Eliot 7th ed Chicago: Regnery Books.
——— 1997 Edmund Burke: A Genius Reconsidered.
Wilmington, DE: Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
Kramnick, Isaac, ed 1999 The Portable Edmund Burke New York: Penguin.
Lambert, Elizabeth R 2003 Edmund Burke of Beaconsfield.
Newark: Univ of Delaware Press.
O’Brien, Conor C 1994 The Great Melody: A Thematic Biography of Edmund Burke Chicago: Univ of Chicago Press.
vBURLAMAQUI, JEAN JACQUES Jean Jacques Burlamaqui achieved prominence
as a SwissJURISTand legal author
Burlamaqui was born July 24, 1694 As an educator, Burlamaqui taught legal studies at Geneva; however, his fame is based primarily on his two publications relating to the law:
Principes du droit naturel, translated as “Prin-ciples of natural law,” in 1747; and Principes du droit politique, or “Principles of political law,”
in 1751 He believed in NATURAL LAW and its
1700
Jean Jacques Burlamaqui 1694–1748
◆
◆
1694 Born, Geneva, Switzerland
1720 Appointed professor of natural and civil law
1732 George Washington born
◆
1743 Thomas Jefferson born
1747 Principes du droit naturel (Principles of
Natural Law) published
1751 Principes du droit politique
(Principles of Political Law) published posthumously
1748 Died, Geneva, Switzerland
Trang 5relationship to God, human intellect, and innate moral responses, and he viewed natural law as the foundation of domestic and INTERNA-TIONAL LAW
Burlamaqui died April 3, 1748, in Geneva, Switzerland
vBURNET, DAVID GOUVERNEUR David Gouverneur Burnet centered his career efforts in Texas
Burnet was born April 4, 1788, in Newark, New Jersey Before entering politics, Burnet served under Francisco de Miranda in 1806 in
an endeavor to liberate Venezuela from Spain
He also studied law and pursued careers in business and speculation
Burnet relocated to Texas and presided as
a Texas district judge in 1834 In 1836 he participated at the Washington-on-the-Brazos Convention, where he drafted the Texas
president ad interim of the Republic of Texas
He subsequently resigned, but returned to perform the duties of VICE PRESIDENT From
1846 to 1847 he acted as theSECRETARY OF STATE
of Texas, the first person to hold such a position in the newly formed state Burnet died December 5, 1870, in Galveston, Texas
vBURR, AARON
and the third vicePRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Burr was born February 6, 1756, in Newark, New Jersey His family traced its ancestry to the Pilgrims and through hundreds of years of English gentry with many members who were prominent in government and politics Both his parents died when he was young and he and his sister were raised in comfortable circumstances by their maternal uncle Burr was a bright, charming, handsome, and witty boy who was gifted intellectually but decidedly mischievous and difficult to control From earliest childhood he showed ambition, deter-mination, and leadership
Burr entered the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) as a sophomore in
1769 at the age of thirteen and graduated summa cum laude three years later He then enrolled inLITCHFIELD LAW SCHOOL(Connecticut), which was run by his brother-in-law and former tutor, Tapping Reeve However, the Revolution-ary War and his desire to be a part of it interrupted his studies
Burr rose swiftly through the ranks of the revolutionary army, displaying daring, energy, courage, and imagination His small stature and pampered upbringing belied an internal strength that surprised many who knew him Accompanying Colonel Benedict Arnold’s troops in their expedition to Quebec, he endured cold, hunger, and illness He was made
an officer in the Continental Army and soon served with GeneralGEORGE WASHINGTON Burr resigned his Army commission in
1779 He resumed the study of law in 1780 and was admitted to the bar in 1782 Later in
1800
David Gouverneur Burnet 1788–1870
◆
◆
◆
◆ ◆ ◆
1788 Born, Newark, N.J.
1806 Joined Miranda expedition
to emancipate Venezuela from Spain
1817 Visited Texas; lived with Indian tribe for a time
1826 Immigrated permanently
to Texas
1834 Became Texas district judge
1836 Helped draft Texas Declaration of Independence;
became president ad interim of the new Republic
1838–40 Served as vice president of the Republic
of Texas
1845 Texas admitted
to the union
1848 Mexican War ended by treaty in which U.S gained territory from Colorado to California
1846 Became secretary
of state of Texas;
Mexican war began
1861–65 U.S Civil War
1870 Died, Galveston, Tx.
1866 Elected to U.S.
Senate but Texan delegation rejected by Congress (due to former Confederate ties)
182 BURNET, DAVID GOUVERNEUR
Trang 61782 he married Theodosia Prevost, a widow
ten years his senior, and the following year their
only child, a daughter also named Theodosia,
was born
In 1789 Burr was appointed attorney general
of the state of New York and in 1790 he was
elected a U.S senator, defeating General Philip
Schuyler, the father-in-law ofALEXANDER HAMILTON
This was the beginning of a bitter rivalry with
Hamilton that would come to a ruinous
conclu-sion years later
Burr served in the Senate for six years
In 1796 the voters turned against him
and elected his former antagonist, General
Schuyler Burr attributed his loss to Hamilton’s
assiduous efforts to undermine his support and
reputation
After losing his Senate seat, Burr served a
short time in the New York assembly, before
entering the presidential race of 1800 He and
his opponent, THOMAS JEFFERSON, received the
same number of votes in theELECTORAL COLLEGE,
and the election went to the House of
Representatives for resolution Burr and his
supporters were unabashedly ambitious in their
zeal to win the office Burr’s nemesis Hamilton
stepped into the fray, announcing his support
for Jefferson and criticizing Burr Finally,
through clever manipulation of the voting
process, Hamilton secured the presidency for
Jefferson and Burr automatically became VICE
Congress passed theTWELFTH AMENDMENT, which
mandated separate balloting for president and
vice president
Burr’s ruthless and opportunistic ambition caused many of his colleagues to shun him both professionally and socially President Jefferson held him at arm’s length, and others in the administration treated him like an outsider
Burr blamed his failure to secure the top office largely on Hamilton and he brooded over perceived injustices Having lost his beloved wife
in 1794, Burr was left with only his daughter, whom he idolized He devoted as much time and energy as possible to her education and her grooming However, the young lady was moving
Aaron Burr.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
1775
Aaron Burr 1756–1836
◆
◆◆ ◆ ◆ ◆◆ ◆
1756 Born,
Newark, N.J
1772 Graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University)
1775–79 Served in the revolutionary army
1789 Appointed attorney general
of New York state
1783 American Revolution ended
1790 Elected to U.S Senate, defeated General Philip Schuyler, father-in-law of Alexander Hamilton
1796 Lost reelection
to General Schuyler
1801 Became vice president under Thomas Jefferson when House
of Representatives broke electoral college tie in Jefferson's favor
1812 Returned
to United States
1807 Acquitted of treason in conquering venture; went into exile in Europe
1806 Failed in attempt to conquer land in western U.S and Mexico
1804 Killed long-time political rival Alexander Hamilton in a gun duel
1836 Died, Princeton, N.J.
LAW IS WHATEVER IS BOLDLY ASSERTED AND PLAUSIBLY MAINTAINED
—A ARON B URR
BURR, AARON 183
Trang 7into adulthood and a life of her own In 1801, against her father’s wishes, she married Joseph Alston, of South Carolina, and moved to the Palmetto State, leaving Burr alone in Washing-ton, D.C
Toward the end of his term as vice president, Burr ran for governor of New York but was defeated During the campaign Hamil-ton again expressed his distrust of Burr and made other disparaging comments about him
Feeling that his honor had been impugned, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel Although Hamilton tried to defuse the conflict, Burr was determined to force aCONFRONTATION The two men met at 7:00 a.m on July 7, 1804 Burr
was an excellent marksman, and he killed Hamilton with the first shot In an ensuing public outcry, Burr was indicted for MURDER
He escaped to his daughter’s home in South Carolina until the furor died down and eventually returned to Washington, D.C., to complete his term as vice president
Burr came to realize that his aspirations to the presidency had been destroyed His political career in ruins, he left Washington, D.C., and traveled west to explore frontier territory He also concocted an elaborate CONSPIRACY that was to be his final political undoing Though complete details of the scheme have never been fully discovered, Burr apparently intended to
United States v Aaron Burr
I
B
n 1807 Aaron Burr was prosecuted for treason
and high misdemeanor in the federal circuit court
in Richmond, Virginia, with U.S Supreme Court
Chief Justice John Marshall presiding as a trial
judge Despite evidence that Burr had been plotting
to raise a rebellion and overtake a portion of the
western territories in the United States and other
evidence that Burr was planning to lead an
unauthorized invasion of Mexico, the defendant
was acquitted by a jury on both the treason and
high misdemeanor charges
Aaron Burr served as the nation’s third vice
president from 1801–1805, having lost the 1800
presidential election after the U.S House of
Representatives broke an electoral deadlock by
naming Thomas Jefferson president and Burr vice
president Although Burr contemplated running for
president again four years later, those ambitions
came to an end when he was indicted for murdering
Alexander Hamilton in a duel on July 11, 1804
Later that same month, Burr, now disaffected
with American politics, met with Britain’s minister to
the United States, Anthony Merry, who
subsequent-ly reported to his government that Burr “was
endeavoring to effect a separation of the western
part of the United States” via military action In early
1805 Burr, while still acting as the vice president of
the United States, contacted Spanish minister,
Marques de Casa Yrujo, to discuss the same subject The governments of both Great Britain and Spain declined to offer Burr any financial or military assistance
When his term as vice president expired, Burr headed west to raise a military force that would either invade Mexico or forcefully sever the southwestern United States into an independent nation led by Burr himself The former vice president first met with another malcontent, Herman Blennerhassett, on Blennerhassett Island, located
in the Ohio River, then part of Virginia A year later Burr joined forces with General James Wilkinson on Blennerhassett Island, where they assembled a force of unknown size to carry out Burr’s plan Burr left the island before any actions were taken to implement the plan
After Burr departed, Wilkinson had second thoughts about the plan and informed President Jefferson of their rebellious preparations Jefferson issued a proclamation calling for the suppression of the conspiracy Federal authorities arrested Burr in March 1807 while he was trying to flee into Spanish Florida The former vice president was brought back
to Virginia where he stood trial before Chief Justice John Marshall (early Supreme Court justices performed double duty as appellate judges on the nation’s high court and as trial judges in their
184 BURR, AARON
Trang 8lead the western states in an INSURRECTION
against the federal government After the states
seceded, he planned to install himself as the
head of a newly created republic He then
intended to conquer Texas and Mexico In
October 1806, President Jefferson issued a
January 14, 1807, Burr was arrested in
Mississippi on a charge ofTREASON He escaped,
but was later apprehended in Alabama Burr’s
trial began in May 1807, and lasted six months
He was eventually acquitted but his political life
was over
Burr spent the next several years in exile in
Europe, where he endured poverty, humiliation,
and degradation In 1812 he quietly returned to the United States, slipping into Boston wearing a disguise and using an assumed name After a time he resumed a somewhat normal life and opened a law office in New York Burr’s prospects seemed to be brightening when he was dealt two crushing personal blows First, he learned that his only grandchild, Aaron Burr Alston, had died before Burr returned to the United States A few months later his beloved daughter perished in a shipwreck while traveling from South Carolina to New York to visit Burr
Burr was devastated by these losses A wave
of sympathy tempered public opinion toward him, but he was still shunned by those in
designated circuit court) and state trial judge Cyrus
Griffin Bail was set at $5,000
After hearing testimony from Wilkinson, the
grand jury for the Virginia federal circuit court
indicted Burr on June 24, 1807 The indictment
charged him with one count of treason and one
count of high misdemeanor for“unlawfully, falsely,
maliciously, and traitorously intending to raise
and levy war” against the United States
The trial began on August 10, 1807, and ended
less than a month later, on September 1, 1807
Jefferson, motivated in part by personal
vindictive-ness against Burr, declared in a special message to
Congress during the trial that Burr’s guilt had been
“placed beyond question.” Jefferson then gave
George Hay, the U.S attorney in charge of the
prosecution, incriminating evidence to offer against
Burr Jefferson also dangled pardons as
entice-ments to any co-conspirators who agreed to turn
state’s evidence
But the prosecution had two major problems
First, the linchpin of the treason charge was the
alleged overt act of assembling a military force on
Blennerhassett Island for the purpose of waging
war against the United States The indictment said
this act occurred on December 10, 1806, a date on
which all defense and prosecution witnesses
agreed that Burr was not on the island, but instead
hundreds of miles away
Second, Chief Justice Marshall instructed the
jurors that they could still convict Burr of treason
for being an coconspirator to the crime, so long as
at least two witnesses provided testimony that some overt act was committed in furtherance of the conspiracy But General Wilkinson was the only witness who testified as to Burr’s involvement in the alleged crime The jury returned a verdict of
“not guilty” after deliberating for only 25 minutes
On September 9, 1807, the trial for the high misdemeanor began, again with Chief Justice Marshall and Cyrus Griffin presiding Prosecutor Hay called more than 50 witnesses to testify against the defendant But the jury again acquitted Burr
Hay then filed a motion to prosecute Burr for treason in Ohio, alleging that the defendant conspired to levy war against the U.S government
in that jurisdiction as well Marshall listened to five weeks of testimony concerning the motion and then
on October 20 ruled that Burr could only be tried for misdemeanor charges in Ohio Finally, Hay ceased efforts at prosecuting Burr any further
FURTHER READINGS Beirne, Francis 1959 Shout Treason: The Trial of Aaron Burr.
New York: Hastings House.
Melton, Bucker F., Jr 2001 Aaron Burr: Conspiracy to Treason.
New York: Wiley.
Vail, Philip 1973 The Turbulent Life of Aaron Burr: The Great American Rascal New York: Award Books.
CROSS REFERENCE Treason.
B
BURR, AARON 185
Trang 9prominence He continued his law practice, enjoyed a small circle of supportive friends, and even remarried, though the union was short-lived and unhappy He quietly and unobtru-sively engaged in numerous altruistic and philanthropic ventures, including providing for the education of young men and women
of limited resources and adopting an orphan who lived with him until late adolescence
During the last few years of his life, Burr suffered a series of strokes At first, he rebounded completely, but each successive episode left him weaker He died September
14, 1836, and was buried beside his parents and grandfather in Princeton, New Jersey
FURTHER READINGS Kennedy, Roger G 2000 Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson:
A Study in Character New York: Oxford Univ Press.
Lomask, Milton 1982 Aaron Burr 2 vols New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Melton, Buckner F., Jr 2001 Aaron Burr: Conspiracy to Treason Indianapolis: Wiley.
Vail, Philip 1973 The Great American Rascal New York:
Hawthorn Books.
vBURTON, HAROLD HITZ Harold Hitz Burton served as a Supreme Court justice during the years the Court outlawed
SEGREGATION Burton was born June 22, 1888, in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts He attended Bowdoin College, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated summa cum laude in 1909 He then entered Harvard Law School where he received his bachelor of laws degree in 1912
He married Selma Florence Smith and the couple set out to take advantage of opportunity in the burgeoning Midwest They settled in
Cleveland where Burton established a successful law practice
Burton served in the infantry in France during WORLD WAR I He rose to the rank of captain and was awarded the Purple Heart In
1923 he began teaching law at Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) and he remained on the faculty there until 1925
Burton’s political career began to take shape when he was elected to the Ohio Legislature in
Harold Hitz Burton.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY OSCAR WHITE CORBIS.
Harold Hitz Burton 1888–1964
◆
1888 Born, Jamaica Plain, Mass.
1909 Graduated summa cum laude from Bowdoin College
1912 Earned law degree from Harvard Law School
1914 World War I began
1917–18 Fought in World War I; won the Purple Heart
1929 Elected to Ohio State legislature
1935 Elected mayor
of Cleveland, Ohio
1940 Elected
to U.S.
Senate
1939–45 World War II
1945 Nominated to U.S Supreme Court by President Truman
1950 Wrote opinion in
Henderson
v U.S.
outlawing segregation
in railroad dining cars
1950–53 Korean War
1954 Joined unanimous ruling in
Brown v Board of Education that
outlawed segregation in public schools
1964 Died, Washington, D C.
1961–73 Vietnam War
1958 Retired from the Court
◆
◆ ◆
THECONSTITUTION
WAS BUILT FOR
ROUGH AS WELL AS
SMOOTH ROADS
—H AROLD B URTON
186 BURTON, HAROLD HITZ
Trang 101929 He also acted as chief legal official of
Cleveland from 1929 to 1932 In 1935 he was
elected mayor of Cleveland and he was returned
to office twice By 1940 Burton’s name and
reputation for integrity were well established
and he easily won election to the U.S Senate
He became known in Washington, D.C., as
a moderate conservative who advocated U.S
membership in the newly formedUNITED NATIONS
When a vacancy occurred on the Supreme
Court in 1945, PresidentHARRY S.TRUMAN, a
Demo-crat, was under pressure to name a Republican
to fill the slot Truman did the politically
expe-dient thing: he named Burton, a moderate
Republican whom he admired and who would
likely be replaced in the Senate by a Democrat
Burton was a popular choice He was confirmed
within a day of his nomination with noTESTIMONY
heard by the SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE and
unanimous approval by the full Senate
Burton was a hardworking, conscientious,
dispassionate, and open-minded justice His
moderate conservatism was a unifying influence
on a highly fractious court He was noted for his
ability to bridge conflicting factions with
narrowly written opinions that settled an issue
without taking a philosophical stand He
generally supported states’ rights against
inter-ference by the federal government, except where
his sensitivity to human suffering was aroused
In 1947 he wrote a vigorous dissent from the
Court’s decision to allow Louisiana to execute a
prisoner after several previous attempts to
execute him had failed The Court held that
the state’s continued efforts to execute the man
did not constitute“cruel and unusual”
punish-ment Burton wrote,“It is unthinkable that any
state legislature in modern times would enact a
statute expressly authorizingCAPITAL PUNISHMENT
by repeated applications of an electric current
separated by intervals of days or hours until
finally death shall result” (Louisiana ex rel
Francis v Resweber, 329 U.S 459, 67 S Ct 374,
91 L Ed 422[1947])
Burton’s decisions in antitrust and labor
disputes tended to favor corporations and
management over unions He was generally
opposed to extending individual rights beyond
the letter of the Constitution, but he digressed
from that stance in matters of racial segregation
and discrimination A decision he authored in
1950 struck down the practice of confining black
passengers in railway dining cars to a separate
area.“The curtains, partitions and signs [used to mark that area],” he wrote, “emphasize the artificiality of a difference in treatment which serves only to call attention to racial classifications
of passengers holding identical tickets and using the same public dining facility” (Henderson v U
S., 339 U.S 816, 70 S Ct 843, 94 L Ed 1302 [1950]) Burton was also a member of the 1954 Court that unanimously declared that segregation
in public schools is unconstitutional (BROWN V
98 L Ed 873)
Burton was compelled to retire in 1958 because of deteriorating health due to Parkin-son’s disease He died October 28, 1964, in Washington, D.C
FURTHER READINGS
“Harold Hitz Burton.” 2009 Biographical Directory of Federal Judges Federal Judicial Center Available online at http://
www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=331; website home page: http://www.fjc.gov (accessed August 27, 2009).
Harold Hitz Burton Papers, George J Mitchell Department
of Special Collections, Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College Library.
Schwartz, Bernard 1995 A History of the Supreme Court.
2d ed New York: Oxford Univ Press.
CROSS REFERENCE Warren Court.
vBUSH, GEORGE HERBERT WALKER George Herbert Walker Bush capped a full and distinguished political career with his election
in 1988 asPRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Bush became the forty-first chief executive after serving for eight years as the nation’s VICE
memorable events of his one-term presidency were the Desert Shield and Desert Storm Operations in the Persian Gulf in 1991
Although Bush was enormously popular in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, his stand-ing with the U.S public plummeted as domestic problems and a sour economy took their toll In
1992, Bush lost the presidential election to Democratic challengerBILL CLINTON, the governor
of Arkansas Clinton’s campaign offered a promise
of change and a“new covenant” between citizens and government
Born June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachu-setts, Bush was the son of Prescott Sheldon Bush,
an international banker and U.S senator from Connecticut, and Dorothy Walker Bush, the daughter of a wealthy St Louis businessman