New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-04-01
THE GRANT PARISH CASE.
Decision Of tho Supreme Court of Il
United States

Decision Of tho Supreme Court Of the
United States.
The opinion OF Chief Justice Waite, in
the Grant parish case, affirming Justice
Bradley's decision as to the insuficiency of
the indictment, which was rendered on
Monday last, is given in full below. All
the Justices of the Supreme Court con-
Cured in the opinion except Mr.. Justice
Clifford, who dissented from the opinion
but concurred in the Judgment:
United States, plaintiffs ID error, vs..
William j. Cruikshank. William ID. Irwin
and John P. Hadnot.-ln error to the Cir
cult Court of the United States tor the dis
Mr.. Chief Justice Waite delivered the
opinion of the court.
This case comes here with certificate by
the Judges of the Circuit Court for the dis
trict of Louisiana that they were divided
in opinion upon question which occurred
at the hearing. 1t presents for our consid
GRAFTON an indictment containing sixteen
counts, divided into two series of eight
counts each, based upon section six of the
enforcement act of May 81, 1870. That sec
ton is as follows:
"That if two or more persons shall band
or cOnspire together, or go in disguise upon
the public highway, or upon the premises of
another, with intent to violate any provision
of this act, or to injure, Cypress, threaten
or intimidate any citizen, with intent to
prevent or hinder his free exercise and en-
jOyment of any right or privilege granted
or secured to him by the constitution or
laws of the United States, or because of his
having exercised the same, such persons
she'll be held guilty of felony, and, on con-
victiOn thereof, shall be fined or imprisoned,
or both, at the dis ,retion of the court the fine
not to exceed. $4,000, and the imprisonment
not to exceed ten years, and shall, more
over, be thereafter ineligible to, and dis
abled from holding, any office or place of
honor, profit or trust created by the consti-
tuition or law of the United States" (l6
Stat, AL
The question certified arose upon a mo-
ton in arrest of judgment after a verdict
of guilty generally upon the whole sixteen
counts, and is stated to be whether 1.-THE
said sixteen counts of said Indictment are
severally good and sufficient in law, and
contain charges of criminal matter indicta-
Bile under the laws of the United States"
The general charge in the first eight
counts is that OF banding and in the
second eight that of ''cOnspiring' together
to injure, Cypress, threaten and intimidate
Levi Nelson and Alexander Tillman, citi
zens of the United States of African de-
scent and persons of color, with the intent
thereby to hinder and prevent them in
their tree exercise and enjoyment OF rights
and privileges granted and secured" to
them sin common with all other good citi.
zens of the United States by the cOnstitu-
ton and laws of the United States"
The offenses provided tor by the statute
in question do not consist in the mere
"banding" or "conspirlng" of two or more
persons together, but in their banding or
conspiring with the intent or for any of the
purposes specified. To bring this case un.
der the operation of the statute, therefore,
1t must appear that the right, the enjoy
ment of which the cOnspiratOrs intended to
hinder or prevent, was one granted or Sc
cured by the constitution or laws OF the
United States. 1t it does not SO appear,
the criminal matter charged has not been
made indictable by any act of Congress
We have in our political system q govern
ment of the United States and a govern
ment of each of the several States Each
one of these governments is distinct from
| the others. and each has citizens of it's own,
who owe it allegiance, and whose rights
within it's jurisdiction it must protect. The
| same person may be at the same time a
| citizen of the United States and a cit zen OF
a State; but his rights Of citizenship under
one of these governments will be different
| from those he has under the other. (Slaugh
| terhouse cases, - Wall, a
| Citizens are the members of the political
community to which they belong. They
| are the people who compose the community
| and who, in their associated capacity, have
| established or submitted themselves to the
domination of government for the promo.
| ton of their general welfare and the pro
lection OF their individual as we'll as then
| collective rights. In the formation of a
! government the people may confer upon il
| such powers as they choose. The govern
ment when SO formed may, and when called
upon should, exercise all the powers it has
| fer the protection of the rights of its citi
| zens and the people within its jurisdiction.
| but it can exercise no other. The duty of a
government to afford protection is limited
always by the power it possesses for thai
purpose.
Experience made the fact known to the
people of the United States that they re
| quired national government for national
| purposes. The separate governments OF
| the separate States, bound together by the
| articles of confederation alone, were no,
sufficient for the promotion of the genera
welfare of the people in respect to foreign
| nations, or for their complete protection al
! citizens of the confederated States. For
this reason the people of the United States
Tin order to form more perfect Union
| establish Justice, insure domestic tranquil
| lily, provide for the common defense, pro
mote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings OF liberty" to themselves and theil
| posterity constitutional preamble), or
daiped and established the government o
| the United States, and defined its powers
by constitution, which they adopted al
| fundamental law and made its rule of &C
ton.
| The government thus established anC
| defined is, TO some extent. a government O
| the States in their political capacity. 1t is
| also, for certain purposes a government O
| the people. Its powers are limited in mum
Der, but not in degree. Within the scope o
its powers as enumerated and defined, it ii
supreme and above the States, but beyond
it has no existence. 1t was erected fol
special purposes, and endowed with all thu
powers necessary for its own preservation
and the accomplishment of the end it
people had in view. 1t can neither gran:
nor secure to its citizens any right or pr
vilege not expressly or by implication
placed under its jurisdiction.
The people Of the United States residen
within any State are subject to two gov
ernments, one State and the other national
but there need be no conflict between tn,
two. tThey are established for differ
ent purposes, and have separate ijurisdic
tons. Together they make one whole, an(
furnish the people of the United State
with complete government-ample TO
the protection Of all their rights at hem
and abroad. True, it may sometime
happen that a person is amenable to boil
jurisdictions for one and the same act
Thus. if marshal OF the United States
unlawfully resisted while executing tn
process of the courts within State, AM
the resistance is accompanied by an assault
on the officer, the sovereignty of the Unite'
States is violated by the resistance, AM
that of the State by the breach o
the counterfeit coin of the United State