Hurley v. Jones

• Decision Date: 01 October 1877
• Citation: Hurley v. Jones, 97 U.S. 318, 24 L.Ed. 1008 (1877)
• Parties: HURLEY v. JONES
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

97 U.S. 318

24 L.Ed. 1008

HURLEY v. JONES.

October Term, 1877

MOTION to reinstate a cause dismissed under the sixteenth rule.

Mr. Fillmore Beall in support of the motion.

Mr. W. F. Sapp, contra.

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE WAITE delivered the opinion of the court.

When this cause was reached in its order upon the docket, there being no appearance by the appellant, the appellee had him called and the appeal dismissed under Rule 16. Our rules require that, 'upon the filing of the transcript of a record brought up by writ of error or appeal, the appearance of counsel for the plaintiff in error or appellant shall be entered.' Rule 9, par. 3. This rule was adopted for the purpose of making some attorney of the court responsible for the due prosecution of the suit, and it was intended for something more than mere form. Parties should understand that they are represented here by their counsel, and that notice to counsel is ordinarily equivalent to notice to themselves.

This cause was docketed here nearly two years and a half before it was called. The attorney of record seems to have done all he was expected to do. But the appellant himself was so unmindful of his interests, that he...