Nathaniel Gordon: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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The case was repeatedly delayed due to the onset of the Civil War. By the time of Gordon's trial, a new district attorney, [[Edward Delafield Smith]], had been appointed. Smith saw the Gordon case as a chance to become prominent and an opportunity to set an example for all future slave traders. He wanted Gordon executed.<ref name=":2" />

Gordon's first trial in [[New York City]] in June 1861 ended in a mistrial, with the jury voting 7-5 in favor of a conviction, allegedly due to bribes. Smith immediately pushed for a retrial. To counter potential tampering and bribes, the government had the jury [[Jury sequestration|sequestered]]. Among the arguments used by Gordon's lawyers during his second trial were technicalities which had successfully been exploited in other trials:<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=William Lee|author-link=William Lee Miller |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_EWaLCjXTgC |title=President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman |date=2009 |publisher=Vintage Books |isbn=978-1-4000-3416-1 |language=en}}</ref>

* The federal government did not have the authority to try Gordon, on the grounds that ''Erie'' was not an American ship since it had been sold to foreigners.