Lucius Stockton and Daniel Moore, Plaintiffs In Error v. Harriet Bishop, Defendant

• Decision Date: 01 January 1844
• Citation: 2 How. 74,43 U.S. 74,11 L.Ed. 184
• Parties: LUCIUS W. STOCKTON AND DANIEL MOORE, PLAINTIFFS IN ERROR, v. HARRIET BISHOP, DEFENDANT
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

43 U.S. 74

2 How. 74

11 L.Ed. 184

LUCIUS W. STOCKTON AND DANIEL MOORE, PLAINTIFFS IN ERROR, v. HARRIET BISHOP, DEFENDANT.

January Term, 1844

IN the Circuit Court of the United States for the western district of Pennsylvania, Harriet Bishop, the defendant in error and a citizen of the state of Ohio, obtained a judgment against Stockton and Moore for $6500 damages and costs, on the 7th of December, 1843.

On the 15th of December, 1843, Stockton and Moore entered into a bond with Hugh Campbell as surety, for the prosecution of a writ of error to this court, which was approved by the judge, and, on the same day, a writ of error and citation was sued out. On the 16th of December, 1843, the citation was returned served on R. Biddle, Esq., attorney of defendant in error.

On the 11th of January, 1844, the plaintiff below sued out a writ of fieri facias and placed it in the hands of the marshal, returnable on the 20th of May.

Coxe moved to quash the writ of fieri facias, as having been irregularly issued.

Mr. Justice STORY delivered the opinion of the court.

Upon the facts stated in the application, there is no doubt that the writ of error, bond, and citation, having been given in due season according to law, operated as a stay of execution, and that a supersedeas to the fieri facias ought to issue from this court, to supercede and quash the same, as prayed for in the motion. Indeed, the issuing of the execution was wholly irregular, and it might have been quashed by an application to the court below. But it is equally competent for this court to do the same thing in furtherance of the purposes of justice. The motion is therefore, granted and a supersedeas will be issued accordingly.

ORDER.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ss.:

The President of the United States of America

To the Honorable the Judges of the Circuit Court of the United States for the western district of Pennsylvania, and to the Marshal of the United States for the said district, greeting:

WHEREAS, lately in the said Circuit Court, _____ before you, or some of you, in a cause between Harriet Bishop, plaintiff, and Lucius W. Stockton and Daniel Moore, defendants, judgment was rendered by the said Circuit Court on the 7th of December, 1843, in favor of the said plaintiff and against the said defendants, for the sum of $6500 and costs of suit, and on the 15th December, 1843, the aforesaid defendants, with sufficient security, filed their bond in error, which was approved by the judge of ...