Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
YPRP
SuP
409
hauds of the marfhall, 'till the right to it is fairly decided ; and 1792.
fo avoid the rifque of putting the true owner to a fuit, for he to-v-%J
purpofe of recoverifg it back ?
For my part, I think that the money, Ihould remain in
the law has adjudged to whom
cuftody.
the
Citation: 2
U.S. of
409the law, tillI -am.
copteot, that the injun&lon
it belongs'; and, -therefore,
iffie.
An Injuniion granted.*
+(,121/,1(
HAYBURNS cAE
410
CAStS
United "tatex.
-RULE..
T792,
412
'
1792. the place in which rules in caufes here depending fhall be obtained, THE CHIEF JUSTICE, at a fubfequent day, tated, that
THE
portant principle which is fo ftrialy obferved by the Conflitution of
the United States.
" There, Sir, are the reafons of our condu&.
Be aflured that,
though it became neceffary, it was far from being pleafaut. To be
obliged to ac contrary, either to the obv;ous dire&ions of Congrefs,
or to a contlitutional principle, in our judgment equaliy obvious, excited feelings in us, which we hope never to experience again."
The Circuit court for the diftri& of North-Carolina, tconfifling of
IREDIELL, )Justice, and STGiEAvEs, Difiria J'udge) made the following reprefentatioN in a letter j6intly addreffed to the Prefident of the
United States, on the 8th of June, 1792.
4 We, the judges now attending at the Circuit court of the United States for the difltri of North Carolina, conceive it our duty to
lay before you fome important obfervations which have occurred to us
in the confideration of an a& of Congrefs lately pafred, entitled "an
a& to provide for the fettlement of the claims of widows and orphans
barred by the limitations heretofore eflablifhaed, and to regulate the
claims to invalid penfions.
'c We beg leave to premife, that it is as much ourinclination, as it
is. our duty, to receive with all poffible refpe& every a& of the Legiflature, and that we never can find ourfelves in a more painful fituation than to be obliged to obje& to. the execution of any, more efpe.
cially to the execution of one founded on the pureft principles of humanity and juflice, which the a& in queftion undoubtedjy is. But,
howev'er lamentable a difference in opinion really. may be, or mith
-whatever difficulty we may have formed an opinion, we are under
the indifpenfable neceflity of a&ing according to the beft ditates of
our own judgment, after duly weighing very confideration that can
occur to us ; which we have done on the prefent occafion.
" The extreme importance of the cafe, and our defire of being explicit beyond the danger of being mifunderftood, will, we hope, juf.
tify us in flating our obfervations in a fyflematic manner. We
therefore, Sir, Jubmit to you the following,6 z. That the Legiflative, Executive, and Judicial departments,
are each formed in a feparate and independent manner ; 'and that the
ultimate Dafis of each is the Confltitution only, within the limits of
vbilch each department can alone juflify any at t of authority.
' 2. Thatthe Legiflature, among other important powers, unqueftionably poffefs that of efltablilbing courts in fuch a manneras totheir
vifdom Ihall appear beft, limited by the terms of the conflitution only; and to whatever extent that power may be exercifed, or however
levere the duty they may think proper to require, the Judges, when
appointed in virtue of any fuch ellablifhment, owe implicit and unreferved obedience to it.
"3. That at the fame time fuch courts cannot be warranted, as we
conceive, by virtue of that part of the Conftitution delegating 7udicialpover, for the exercife, of which- any act of the legiflature is
provided, in eercifing (oven under the authority of another art)
414
1792. praffice of this court; and that they will, from time to time,
:.a... make fuch alterations therein, as circumftances may render ne-
cefT ry
OS-WALM.
rate confideratibn, whetber- we can be warrantedl in executing thepurpofes ofthe act in that manner, in cafe an application fhould be made..
9 No application has yet been.made to the court, or to on ifelves
individually, and therefore we have had fome doubts as to the propriety of giving an opinion in a cafe which bas not yet come regularly
and judicially before us. None can be more fenfible than.we are of the
neceflity of judges being-in general extremely cautious in not intimating an opini6n in any cafe -extra-judicially, becauffe we well know how
liable thd beft minds are, notwithftanding their utmoft care, to a bias,
which may arife from a pre-conceived opinion, even unguardedly,
much more deliberately, given : But in the prefent inflance, as many
unfortunate and meritorious individuals, whom Congrefs have jufly
thought proper objects of immediate relief, may fuffer great diftref;
even by a-fhort delay, and may be utterly ruined by a long one, we determined at all everits to make our fentiments known s early as poffible, confiderinj this as a cafe which muft be deemed an exception
to the general rule, upon every principle of humanity and jufice;
refolving however, that fo far as we are concerned individually, in
cafe an application fhould be made, we will moft attentively hear
it ; and if we can be convinced, this opinion is a wrong one, we
Thall not hefitate to act accordingly, being as far from the weakmefs of fuppofing that there is any reproach in having committed
an error, to which the greateft and belt men are fometimes liable,
as we faould be from fo low a fenfe of duty,, as to think it would
aot be the higheft and moft deferved reproach that could be beflowed on any men (much more on Judges) that they were capable, from any motive, of perreering againrf conviction, in appa.
rently maintaining an pinion, which they really thought to. Lerroneous."