corporated territories need not.[3] For this purpose, Alaska was
held to be an incorporated territory even before the organization of its
territorial government.[4] In in re Ross[5] the requirements of this
amendment were held to cover only citizens and others within the United
States or who are brought to the United States for trial for alleged
offenses committed elsewhere, not to citizens residing or temporarily
sojourning abroad.[6] Accordingly, laws passed to carry into effect
treaties granting extraterritorial rights were not rendered
unconstitutional by the fact that they did not secure to an accused the
right to trial by jury.

Offenses Against the United States

There are no common law offenses against the United States. Only those
acts which Congress has forbidden, with penalties for disobedience of
its command, are crimes.[7] As used in the Constitution the word
"crime" embraces only offenses of a serious character. Petty offenses
may be proceeded against summarily in any tribunal legally constituted
for that purpose.[8] The nature of the act and the severity of
punishment prescribed determine whether an offense is serious or petty.
A penalty of $50 for a violation, not necessarily involving moral
delinquency, of a revenue statute indicates only a petty offense.[9] The
unlawful sale of the unused portion of railway excursion tickets without
a license, is at most an infringement of local police regulations; and
its moral quality is relatively inoffensive; it may therefore be tried
without a jury.[10] But a charge of driving an automobile recklessly, so
as to endanger life and property, is a "grave offense" for which a jury
trial is requisite.[11] A conspiracy to invade the rights of another
person also falls in that category.[12]

Actions to recover penalties imposed by act of Congress,[13] deportation
proceedings[14] and contempt proceedings[15] for violation of an
injunction have been held not to be criminal prosecutions. Only a
prosecution which is technically criminal in its nature falls within the
purview of Amendment VI.[16] The concept of a criminal prosecution is
much narrower than that of a "criminal case" under the Fifth
Amendment.[17]

Trial by Jury

The trial by jury required by the Constitution includes all the
essential elements of jury trial which were recognized in this country
and in England when the Constitution was adopted;[18] a jury must
consist of twelve men, neither more nor les