United States v. Schooner Amistad’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 federal appellate · 2 district · 10 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 38 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““This posture of the facts would seem, of itself, to put an end to the whole inquiry upon the merits. But it is argued, on behalf of the United States, that the ship and cargo, and negroes, were duly documented as belonging to Spanish subjects, and this court has no right to look behind these documents; that full faith and credit is to be given to them; and that they are to be held conclusive evidence in this cause, even though it should be established by the most satisfactory proofs that they have been obtained by the grossest frauds and impositions upon the constituted authorities of Spain. To this argument we can, in no wise, assent. There is nothing in the treaty which justifies or sustains the argument. Wle do not here meddle with the point whether there has been any connivance in this illegal traffic on the part of ¿ny ' of the colonial authorities or subordinate officers of Cuba; because, in our view, such an examination is unnecessary, and ought not to be pursued, unless it were indispensable to public justice, although it has been strongly pressed at the bar. What we proceed upon is this, that although public documents of the government, accompanying property found on board of the private ships óf a foreign nation, certainly are to be deemed prima facie evidence of the facts which they purport to state, yet they are always open to be impugned for fraud; and whether that fraud be in the original obtaining of these documents, or in the subsequent fraudulent and illegal”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Harn v. Smith

2. “had officially presented to the proper department of the government of the United States, a claim for the restoration of the vessel, cargo, and slaves, as the property of Spanish subjects, which had arrived within the jurisdictional limits of the United States, and were taken possession of by the said public armed brig of the United States; under such circumstances as made it the duty of the United States to cause the same to be restored to the true proprietors, pursuant to the treaty between the United States and Spain: and praying the Court, on it being made legally to appear that the claim of the Spanish minister was well founded, to make such order ... as would best enable the United States to comply with their treaty stipulations.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 22 F. Supp. 2d 521 - Sea Hunt, Inc. v. Unidentified, Shipwrecked Vessel or Vessels

3. ““If, then, these negroes are not slaves, but are kidnapped Africans, who by the laws of Spain itself, are entitled to their freedom, and were kidnapped and illegally carried to Cuba, and illegally detained and restrained on board of the Amistad; there is no pretence to say, that they are pirates or robbers. We may lament the dreadful acts, by which they asserted their liberty, and took possession of the Amistad, and endeavoured to regain their native country; but they cannot be deemed pirates or robbers in the sense of the law of nations, or the treaty with Spain, or the laws of Spain itself; at least so far as those laws have been brought to our knowledge.” Id. at 593-94.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 690 F. Supp. 1291 - United States v. Buck