

The criminal act element required for treason is levying war against the United States or adhering to the enemy by giving aid and comfort (18 U.S.C. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.” The pertinent section of the Constitution states, “Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying War against them, or, in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. Although the treason clause in the Constitution is modeled after the early English law defining treason, it omits a section that criminalized “imagining the death of the King” and also limits Congress’s authority to extend or expand the crime of treason or to lighten the evidentiary requirements. Treason was punishable by death in England, so it was a constant threat to anyone who disagreed with the ruling party. The founding fathers wanted to ensure that the government would not charge an individual with treason without significant and reliable proof. The last section of this chapter discusses other crimes against the government that are primarily state regulated, such as perjury, bribery, and obstruction of justice.Īrticle III § 3 of the US Constitution defines treason and specifies the evidentiary requirements for any treason trial.

Section 13.2 “Crimes Involving Terrorism” examines terrorism and the USA PATRIOT Act. This section explores crimes against the nation, such as treason, sedition, sabotage, and espionage. Criminal statutes protecting the government can encroach on the individual freedom to protest government action and can also affect privacy interests, which subjects them to enhanced constitutional scrutiny similar to the crimes against the public reviewed in Chapter 12 “Crimes against the Public”. National security is an issue that affects the entire country, so most of the regulation in this area is federal, rather than state (Pennsylvania v.

The government is tasked with keeping the nation safe from domestic and international attacks on the government and citizens. Define the elements of espionage, and analyze espionage grading.Define the elements of various forms of sabotage, and analyze sabotage grading.Define the elements of sedition, and analyze sedition grading.Define the elements of treason, and analyze treason’s evidentiary requirements and grading." 18 U.S.C., Chapter 90-Protection of Trade Secrets." Accessed Sept. " The Threat Posed by the Chinese Government and the Chinese Communist Party to the Economic and National Security of the United States." Accessed Sept. 28, 2021.įederal Bureau of Investigation. " Prosecuting 'Chinese Spies': An Empirical Analysis of the Economic Espionage Act." Accessed Sept. " Survey of Chinese-Linked Espionage in the United States Since 2000." Accessed Sept. 28, 2021.Ĭenter for Strategic & International Studies. " FBI Announces Economic Espionage Awareness Campaign." Accessed Sept. " Foreign Economic Espionage in Cyberspace, 2018,". National Counterintelligence and Security Center. " China: Effects of Intellectual Property Infringement and Indigenous Innovation Policies on the U.S. " Information About the Department of Justice's China Initiative and Compilation of China-Related Prosecutions Since 2018." Accessed Sept. " What Is 'Economic Espionage'?" Accessed Sept. " The Economic and Innovation Impacts of Trade Secrets." Accessed Sept. Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive. " Executive Summary-China: The Risk to Corporate America." Accessed Sept. " Public Law 104-294, Economic Espionage Act of 1996," Stat.
