The Jury's Verdict in the Trial of Robert W. Allen

This comes from the case United States v Robert W. Allen, November 1839. The presentment by the Grand Jury accused Mr. Allen of "...[fitting] out a vessel called the "Catharine"...with the intent to employ the said vessel in the slave trade." Allen was charged with six counts concerning the "...intent to employ the...Catharine...in procuring negroes from...the Continent of Africa." A warrant was issued for his arrest. The verdict reads “We the undersigned Jurors…in the case of the United States against Robert Allen, on a charge of violating an Act of Congress prohibiting the dealing or trafficking in the Slave Trade from the coast of Africa, are of the opinion that the United States have failed to produce sufficient evidence to convict him…we therefore find [him] Not Guilty.”