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FACT BRIEF

Did the Supreme Court find the Union guilty of 'constitutional treason' in 1867?

By Christiana Dillard
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NO

A recent social media post falsely claims that no Confederate leader was tried for treason in the 1800s because it was the Union that was guilty of treason, declared so by the U.S. Supreme Court.

No such Supreme Court decision exists, said Deborah Pearlstein, a professor of law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University: 

"Treason is an offense that can be charged by the government against an individual or individuals. As a matter of law, it makes no sense to imagine a government of any kind guilty of 'treason.'"

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
US Congress ArtIII.S3.C1.1.2 Treason Clause: Doctrine and Practice
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.