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criminal law

Respublica versus Abraham Carlisle

Respublica v. Carlisle, 1 U.S. 35 (1778) was a high treason case decided in the midst of the American Revolution by the Court of Oyer and Terminer at Philadelphia.

The indictment accused the defendant of “not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the Devil… to subvert, and to raise again and restore the government and tyranny of the king of Great-Britain.”

Such colorful language. For being a loyalist, “the Defendant, a short time afterwards, was accordingly executed.”

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