The Biblical Origin of the Constitution’s Two-Witness Standard
Treason is the only criminal offense defined in the Constitution, and as such, allegations of the crime are sparsely levied. This infrequency is attributable to the specificity of the American definition, the difficulty in achieving the requisite standards of proof, and its codification in the infle...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2022
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| In: |
A journal of church and state
Year: 2022, Volume: 64, Issue: 2, Pages: 259-279 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Treason
/ Witness
/ Law
/ USA
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| RelBib Classification: | HA Bible KBQ North America XA Law |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Treason is the only criminal offense defined in the Constitution, and as such, allegations of the crime are sparsely levied. This infrequency is attributable to the specificity of the American definition, the difficulty in achieving the requisite standards of proof, and its codification in the inflexible national governing document—all of which serve to prevent the Treason Clause’s alteration and weaponization.1 Among other protections, Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution requires that an accusation of treason be substantiated by the corroboration "of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court."2 The singular standard of proof, contrasting the conventional criminal-trial standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt," further distinguishes the provision. It is of little surprise, then, that the two-witness standard is not an American innovation. The academic consensus locates the origin of the Constitution’s Treason Clause in two British statutes. This answer is incomplete. While the Treason Clause nearly duplicates these two statutes, Parliament itself borrowed the two-witness standard from the nation’s ecclesiastical courts, which in turn lifted the protection from the scriptures. Thus, the true origin of the Constitution’s two-witness standard is the Bible. |
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| ISSN: | 2040-4867 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: A journal of church and state
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jcs/csab027 |