International Criminal Jurisdiction in the Twenty-First Century: Rediscovering United States v. Bowman Article
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Recommended Citation
Ellen S. Podgor and Daniel M. Filler, International Criminal Jurisdiction in the Twenty-First Century: Rediscovering United States v. Bowman, 44 San Diego L. Rev. 585 (2007)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
Laws Apply at Sea, Supreme Court Rules was the Washington Post headline for a story reporting the Supreme Court's November 13, 1922 decision of United States v. Bowman. In 1922, America had not yet imagined a globalized world where a local Washington D.C. phone call might be answered in New Delhi and where the notion of Americans making clothes and forging steel was becoming quaint and antiquated. Yet in the Bowman decision, the Court laid the groundwork for a twenty-first century defined by global commerce and crime without borders. Today, the Bowman decision receives relatively little attention. When it is cited, it is often misread by lower courts. But as this new century unfolds, Bowman is likely to be seen as a central decision in the evolution of international criminal jurisdiction. It is time to shine a new light on Bowman-a criminal procedure decision that has long been underrated and misunderstood.
