United States Court for China

The United States Court for China was a United States District Court that had jurisdiction over U.S. citizens in China. It existed from 1906 and 1943 and had jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters, with appeals taken to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.

The District had only one judge, and those on trial sometimes had to wait months for proceedings. The District also grew to incorporate the Philippines and Guam in its jurisdiction.

Because the court was based outside of the United States, the United States Constitution did not apply; there was no right to a jury trial nor to constitutional due process.

References

* [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=440641 Law journal article by Teemu Ruskola]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E04E2DF143EE233A25751C2A9659C946997D6CF Article] from the New York Times