 In United States v. Gooding ( 1827 ) , the Court construed the elements of the fitting out offense . First , the Court held that the offense of fitting out a vessel for slave trading could be committed even if the owner of the vessel did not personally fit it out . Second , the Court held that the statute could be violated by a partial fitting out ( as opposed to a complete fitting out ) of a vessel for that purpose . Third , the Court held that — since slave trading was a misdemeanor — there was no distinction between principal and accessory . Fourth , the Court held that , for the statute to be violated , the fitting out must have occurred within the United States . Finally , the Court held that the statute 's mens rea required that the owner intend to cause the vessel to be used for slave trading , as opposed to intending that the vessel be used for slave trading ( by some third party ) . 
