In re Ross
In re Ross or Ross v. McIntyre, 140 U.S. 453 (1891), was a United States Supreme Court case decided on May 21, 1891. It dealt with the application of US law by United States consular courts over foreign sailors on US-flagged ships in countries where the United States exercised extraterritorial jurisdiction.
| In re Ross | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued April 30 – May 1, 1891 Decided May 25, 1891 | |
| Full case name | Ross v. McIntyre, Superintendent of the Penitentiary of the State of New York at Albany |
| Citations | 140 U.S. 453 (more) 11 S. Ct. 897; 35 L. Ed. 581; 1891 U.S. LEXIS 2479 |
| Holding | |
| A vessel being American is evidence that the seamen on board are such. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | Field, joined by unanimous |
Background
John M. Ross, a Canadian sailor on the American ship Bullion, was convicted in the US consular court in Yokohama of murder on the ship while it was in Yokohama before the US consul general at Kanagawa, Thomas van Buren. He was sentenced to death, but President Rutherford B. Hayes commuted the sentence to a life sentence of hard labor at Albany penitentiary. Although Ross accepted the commutation, he later sought a writ of habeas corpus for his release on the grounds that having been born on Prince Edward Island he was a British subject and so not subject to the jurisdiction of an American Consular Court.
Decision
The Supreme Court upheld the jurisdiction of the court on the basis that having enrolled on a United States ship he became subject to the jurisdiction of United States courts.
External links
- Text of In re Ross, 140 U.S. 453 (1891) is available from: Justia Library of Congress