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Act of April 9, 1866 An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights, and furnish the Means of their Vindication. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States; and such citizens, of every race and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right, in every State and Territory in the United States, to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, to the contrary notwithstanding. Sec.
2. And be it further enacted, That any person who, under color of any law,
statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, shall subject, or cause to be
subjected, any inhabitant of any State or Territory to the deprivation
of any right secured or protected by this act, or to different punishment,
pains, or penalties on account of such person having at any time been held
in a condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or by reason
of his color or race, than is prescribed for the punishment of white persons,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction, shall be punished
by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not
Sec.
3. And be it further enacted, That the district courts of the United States,
within their respective districts, shall have, exclusively of the courts
of the several States, cognizance of all crimes and offences
Sec.
4. And be it further enacted, That the district attorneys, marshals, and
deputy marshals of the United States, the commissioners appointed by the
circuit and territorial courts of the United States, with powers of
Sec.
5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all marshals
and deputy marshals to obey and execute all warrants and precepts issued
under the provisions of this act, when to them directed; and should any
marshal or deputy marshal refuse to receive such warrant or other process
when tendered, or to sue all proper means diligently to execute the same,
he shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars,
to the use of the person upon whom the accused is alleged to have committed
the offence. And the better to enable the said commissioners to execute
their duties faithfully and efficiently, in conformity with the Constitution
of the United States and the requirements of this act, they are hereby
authorized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to appoint,
in writing, under their hands, any one or more suitable persons, from time
to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued
by
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingly and wilfully obstruct, hinder, or prevent any officer, or other person charged with the execution of any warrant or process issued under the provisions of this act, or any person or persons lawfully assisting him or them, from arresting any person for whose apprehension such warrant or process may have been issued, or shall rescue or attempt to rescue such person from the custody of the officer, other person or persons, or those lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested pursuant to the authority herein given and declared, or shall aid, abet, or assist any person so arrested as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to escape from the custody of the officer or other person legally authorized as aforesaid, or shall harbor or conceal any person for whose arrest a warrant or process shall have been issued as aforesaid, so as to prevent his discovery and arrest after notice or knowledge of the fact that a warrant has been issued for the apprehension of such personal, shall, for either of said offences, be subject to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and imprisonment not exceeding six months, by indictment and conviction before the district court of the United States for the district in which said offence may have been committed, or before the proper court of criminal jurisdiction, if committed within any one of the organized Territories of the United States. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the district attorneys, the marshals, their deputies, and the clerks of the said district and territorial courts shall be paid for their services the like fees as may be allowed to them for similar services in other cases; and in all cases where the proceedings are before a commissioner, he shall be entitled to a fee of ten dollars in full for his services in each case, inclusive of all services incident to such arrest and examination. The person or persons authorized to execute the process to be issued by such commissioners for the arrest of offenders against the provisions of this act shall be entitled to a fee of five dollars for each person he or they may arrest and take before any such commissioner as aforesaid, with such other fees as may be deemed reasonable by such commissioner for such other additional services as may be necessarily performed by him or them, such as attending at the examination, keeping the prisoner in custody, and providing him with food and lodging during his detention, and until the final determination of such commissioner, and in general for performing such other duties as may be required in the premises; such fees to be made up in conformity with the fees usually charged by the officers of the courts of justice within the proper district or county, as near as may be practicable, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States on the certificate of the judge of the district within which the arrest is made, and to be recoverable from the defendant as part of the judgment in case of conviction. Sec.
8. And be it further enacted, That whenever the President of the United
States shall have reason to believe that offences have been or are likely
to be committed against the provisions of this act within any judicial
district, it shall be lawful for him, in his discretion, to direct the
judge, marshal, and district attorney of such district to attend at such
place within the district, and for such time as he may designate, for the
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, or such person as he may empower for that purpose, to employ such part of the land or naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, as shall be necessary to prevent the violation and enforce the due execution of this act. Sec.
10. And be it further enacted, That upon all questions of law arising in
any cause under the provisions of this act a final appeal may be taken
to the Supreme Court of the United States.
SCHUYLER
COLFAX,
LA
FAYETTE S. FOSTER,
In
the Senate of the United States, April 6, 1866.
The President of the United States having returned to the Senate, in which it originated, the bill entitled "An act to protect all persons in the United States in their civil rights, and furnish the means of their vindication," with his objections thereto, the Senate proceeded, in pursuance of the Constitution, to reconsider the same; and, Resolved, That the said bill do pass, two-thirds of the Senate agreeing to pass the same. Attest:
J.W. Forney,
The
House of Representatives having proceeded, in pursuance of the Constitution,
to reconsider the bill entitled "An act to protect all persons in the United
States in their civil rights, and furnish the means of their
Resolved, That the bill do pass, two-thirds of the House of Representatives agreeing to pass the same. Attest:
Edward McPherson, Clerk,
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