The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800

This volume addresses the cases that the American Supreme Court heard between 1790 to 1795, with the exception of suits against states. It contains a selection of documents and discussions of the legal practice of the period. Each case is treated as a narrative history.Volume 6 covers the beginnings of federal admiralty and equity jurisprudence, habeas corpus, judicial review, forreign affairs, and the relationship between the national judiciary and state courts. Also included is an appendix of documents pertaining to the question of whether the Supreme Court could issue advisory opinions at the request of the executive branch. A narrative history introduces each case, and the documents are arranged chronologically thereafter. The texts of many of them had to be reconstructed from originals that were severely damaged or written in shorthand. Taken from official court records, as well as related correspondence, lawyers' notes, justices' notes and opinions, newspaper commentary, and pamphlets, these documents provide critical material with which to assess the initial development of federal court practice and procedure.