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300:, Pennsylvania's attorney general, to represent him. On appeal, Barnes focused on the procedural irregularities. Barnes asserted that the writ had been signed and sealed only by the clerk of the circuit court in Rhode Island instead of by the Supreme Court clerk, which he claimed as necessary. This was asserted despite the fact that West would have had to make an arduous journey in 1791 to Philadelphia within ten days to do so. West lost on this procedural issue and was eventually forced to relinquish his farm.
337:'s treatises. Several of the justices expressed their reservations about the federal statute and suggested alternatives for filing within the ten-day statutory period, but nevertheless each justice refused to expand the meaning of the statute believing that only Congress had the power to do so. In summation the
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for the
District of Rhode Island. Justice Jay, Justice Cushing and Judge Henry Marchant held the plea bad for a second time. They decided that William West lodged payment of his debt with a Rhode Island judge on September 16, and so Barnes had ten days to collect it, according to the state statute.
370:, issued out of the office of the clerk of the circuit court for Rhode Island district, directed to that court, and commanding a return of the judgment and proceedings rendered by them in this cause: And thereupon he moved for a rule, that the defendant rejoin to the errors assigned in this cause.
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as required by federal statute, and not by a lower court located closer to the plaintiff in Rhode Island. As a result of this case, Congress ultimately changed this procedure with the ninth section of the
Process and Compensation Act of 1792, allowing circuit courts to issue these writs, thereby
402:
was upset by the governing statute and wrote to
President Washington to change the law, which allowed only the clerk of the Supreme Court to issue writs of error. The Process and Compensation Act of 1792 altered the law to prevent such hardships for future litigants.
308:
The court's full opinion was extensively covered by period newspapers as no official court reporter was yet published in 1791, and the seriatim opinions were republished in the newspapers and are currently accessible in James R. Perry's
296:. They rejected his arguments. West then pursued appeal to the Supreme Court on a writ of error, attempting to comply with all statutory directions. West was unable to make the journey to Philadelphia to represent himself, so he engaged
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The Rhode Island "lodging" Act was, however, suspended on the 19th of that month and so the ten-day period could not fully occur since only three days had passed and was thus not conformable to the statute. Barnes eventually won the
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case, but he had difficulty ejecting West's family from the farm, as West had sold the farm to a son-in-law. West's estate continued to be disputed after his death, resulting in the First
Circuit decision
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in fulfillment of a contract. The court did not exercise judicial review in deference to the legislature. The court ultimately decided against
William West, the petitioner, on procedural grounds.
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433:(, 6 Wall. 355), it is stated that a decision to that effect in West v. Barnes... led to the enactment of the ninth section of the act of 1792, being section 1004 of the Revised Statutes..." (
559:, Frederick Charles Brightly, United States. Supreme Court, United States, Edition: 2, Published by Printed for the reporter at the Aurora Office, 1906, Item notes: v. 2, pg. 401 (348)
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THE COURT were unanimously of opinion, That writs of error to remove causes to this court from inferior courts, can regularly issue only from the clerk's office of the court.
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instead of gold or silver. West tendered payment in the paper currency as allowed by state statute, "lodging" the funds with a state judge to be collected within ten days.
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Several months after the decision, on
November 9, 1791, Barnes brought another suit of ejectment to eject West from the mortgaged farm. He filed suit in the
378:, one of the defendants, (a counsellor of the court) objected to the validity of the writ, that it had issued out of the wrong office: and, after argument,
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The Court held that "Writs of error to remove causes to this court from inferior courts, can regularly issue only from the clerk's office of the court."
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by
Christopher L. Tomlins, Houghton Mifflin Company, American Bar Foundation Edition: illustrated Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005
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Reports of cases ruled and adjudged in the several courts of the United States, and of
Pennsylvania: held at the seat of the federal government
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asserting that gold or silver payment was required, and refusing the paper currency. Despite lack of formal training, West represented himself
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to help pay off the remainder. Due to his service during the
Revolution, the state granted him permission. Much of the proceeds were paid in
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204:, which were published in various newspapers around the country at the time, but he published an abbreviated summary of the decision.
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429:"Prior to 1791 it was the practice that a writ of error could only issue from the office of the clerk of the supreme court. In
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196:(1792) was the first appellate case docketed with the Court but was dropped before it could be heard. Supreme Court Reporter
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262:. He made payments on the mortgage for twenty years, and in 1785 asked the state for permission to conduct a
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539:, by Charles Warren, The Yale Law Journal, 1922, pg. 22-23. (accessed through
499:"U.S. Supreme Court Records of Earliest caselaw PDF (accessed April 24, 2009)"
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The
Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800
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The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800
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The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800
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The Court ultimately decided the case on procedural grounds, holding that a
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Earliest Cases of Judicial Review of State Legislation by Federal Courts
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regarding the writ of error, and the justices unsuccessfully looked to
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List of United States Supreme Court cases prior to the Marshall Court
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The United States Supreme Court: the pursuit of justice,
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in the circuit court in June 1791 before Chief Justice
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was argued on August 2 and decided on August 3, 1791.
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state statute regarding lodging payment of a debt in
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assisting citizens living far away from the capital.
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List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 2
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633:United States Supreme Court cases of the Jay Court
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482:"West v. Barnes: The First Supreme Court Decision"
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211:(an appeal) must be issued within ten days by the
325:precedent from state courts and pre-Revolution
213:Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States
200:did not publish the justices' full opinions in
313:, Volume 6, "West v. Barnes," pp. 3–27.
186:but settled before the Court heard the case:
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488:, July/Aug 2010, pg. 13-15 (59-AUG RIBJ 13)
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525:, Volume 6, "West v. Barnes," pp. 3-27.
258:deal in 1763 to the Jenckes family from
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486:Rhode Island Bar Association Journal
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437:, 61 F. 747, 748 (6th Cir. 1894)).
36:Supreme Court of the United States
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608:United States Supreme Court cases
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638:Banknotes of the United States
623:1791 in United States case law
435:Cotter v. Alabama G. S. R. Co.
358:On the first day of the term,
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613:Legal history of Rhode Island
182:(1791) was docketed prior to
224:This was the first case of
170:United States Supreme Court
166:2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 401 (1791)
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362:presented to the court, a
254:on his farm from a failed
179:Van Staphorst v. Maryland
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618:Scituate, Rhode Island
557:Alexander James Dallas
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278:diversity jurisdiction
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45:Decided August 3, 1791
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298:William Bradford, Jr.
43:Argued August 2, 1791
628:1791 in Rhode Island
288:, Associate Justice
480:Timothy W. Larson,
431:Mussina v. Cavazos,
427:Cotter v. Alabama,
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602:Categories
463:References
335:Blackstone
329:including
323:common law
260:Providence
220:Background
589:, pg. 37
422:in 1820.
413:ejectment
394:Aftermath
153:Unanimous
60:Citations
441:See also
398:Justice
360:Bradford
342:reporter
304:Opinions
286:John Jay
256:molasses
252:mortgage
150:Majority
109:John Jay
346:holding
264:lottery
88:Holding
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376:Barnes
339:Dallas
292:, and
282:pro se
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541:JSTOR
502:(PDF)
80:Dall.
583:ISBN
575:ISBN
364:writ
333:and
331:Coke
188:West
73:more
65:U.S.
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68:401
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