Case Name: United States v. Slacum
Court: United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1808-07
Citations: 1 Cranch 485
Docket Number: 
Parties: United States v. Slacum.
Judges: (Duckett, J., absent,)
Reporter: Reports of cases argued and determined in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (District of Columbia - reported by Mackey)
Volume: 1
Pages: 485–486

Head Matter:
United States v. Slacum.
The Act of Congress of the 30th of April, 1790, § 32, which limits the prosecution of offences not capital to two years, applies to cases of assault and battery at common law in the District of Columbia.
The finding of an informal presentment is not the finding or instituting of the indictment, so as to take the case out of the statute.
Indictment for assault and battery. The defendant pleaded the Act of Congress of April, 1790, [1 Stat. at Large, 112,] by which prosecutions are limited to two years, after the offence committed.
Replication that a presentment was found for the offence within the two years. General demurrer.
Mr. Swann, for the defendant.
The words of the act are, “ Nor shall any person be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offence not capita], nor for any fine or forfeiture under any penal statute, unless the indictment or information for the same shall be found or instituted within two years from the time of committing the offence, or incurring the fine of forfeiture aforesaid.”
The Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of Adams v. Wood, 2 Cranch, 336, decided that the statute was a bar to all ]§inds of prosecution and for offences created'by acts of Congress since 1790.
Mr. Jones, Attorney for the United States for the District of Columbia,
.contended, that the Act of Congress applies only to of-fences created by acts of Congress, not to cases of assault and battery at common law. At the time of passing the Act of Limitation, there were no' crimes against the United States, but statutory crimes.
Instituting an indictment, is as appropriate as finding an indictment. The presentment was the institution of the indictment. A presentment is tantamount to an indictment.' An indictment is only a specification of ■ a presentment. Instituted is a broader term than found.
Mr. Swann, in reply.
The general acts of Congress apply to this district, unless repugnant to the adopted laws of Virginia. Assault and battery is included in the Act of Congress, and is within the reason of the cases mentioned in the act.
If an informal presentment of a grand jury may be said to be the institution of an indictment, the act might be completely evaded.

Opinion:
The ComtT
(Duckett, J., absent,)
was of opinion that the Act of Congress applied to cases of assault and battery; that the finding of a previous presentment was not the finding nor institution of the indictment; that the Act of Congress was a good bar to the prosecution ; and that therefore the replication was bad.