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“Judge Battle was a well-read, painstaking and sound lawyer. He was well grounded in the great principles of the law, and was specially familiar with the law and judicial decisions of our own State. Indeed, there has been no lawyer more learned than he in the laws of this State. He was exceedingly fond and […]

John Hall, of Warrenton, was by two years the senior of Taylor. Like him, he was trained at William and Mary College. Unlike him, however, he did not have the gifts for rapid success at the bar. He won his way by persevering industry and faithfulness to duty, by constant study, and strictest integrity. He

While they all met the approval of the Court, for their intelligence and fidelity, I notice specially Edmund B. Freeman, as having been identified with the Court for a third of a century. The following lines by Mrs. Mary Bayard Clarke, though not historically perfectly accurate, are very touching: “The old Clerk sits in his

Another change is in the mode of appointment of the Chief Justice. Until 1868 the designation of the judge who was to perform the honorary function of presiding was left to the judges themselves. From the beginning the safe rule was adopted, that the oldest in office should be chief. Henderson and Hall naturally yielded

As the judges for the last six years had not elaborated their opinions in such manner as met the approval of the profession, a law was passed in 1810 requiring them to write out their opinions “at full length,” which mandate many young students of the law think was in after years occasionally obeyed with

The estimate placed by these gentlemen on the Judges, is extremely unfavorable. Maclaine and Hay spoke of them with bitter contempt. Davis refused the offer of the District Judgeship of the United States, because of the paltry salary, though he was “anxious to escape from the d-d Judges.” Hooper narrates the following, which I quote

In 1760, Governor Dobbs was moved by the urgency of the Assembly and prevalence of anarchy, with the approval of Chief Justice Berry, and the Attorney General Childs, who had given a different opinion when in England, to sign a court law substantially the same as that disapproved by the Crown. For this he was

Governor Burrington’s friendship with Chief Justice Smith was of short continuance. We soon find the latter proceeding to England bearing complaints of the Governor’s tyrannical and overbearing conduct, one witness swearing that he had in the presence of the Court ordered the marshal to arrest and imprison him. The Governor endeavored to break the force

What we call “counties” were, until 1788, called “precincts,” while a number of precincts constituted the larger jurisdictions of Albemarle and Bath counties. I do not find the County Courts, contemplated by the Fundamental Constitutions, ever had an existence. The Precinct Courts were established at once, and under the name, subsequently given, of Courts of

The people regard with favor every effort to preserve the history of the State, and of its separate civil and military departments of government. A notable illustration of this is the process of restoring the records of our Colonial times, which is now being conducted by the authority of an act of the Legislature, and