Braxton v. Morris

First page of the opinion Braxton v. Morris, in Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Court of Appeals of Virginia, by Bushrod Washington. Richmond: T. Nicolson, 1798.

Braxton v. Morris, 1 Va. (1 Wash.) 380 (1794), is a short decision discussing whether a new legislative rule requiring monetary security could be satisfied by a nominal fee.

Background

The issue before the court regarded a new rule created by the legislature stating that an appellant should show cause as to why the appeal should not be dismissed, unless he or she gave monetary security as a penalty sufficient to cover the decision given. Chancellor Wythe allowed the appellant to appeal with a small (nominal) fee. The issue then came before the court as to the construction of the law and whether Wythe was right in taking such a small fee.

The Court's Decision

The Court of Appeals decided that Wythe took only as much as he was required to by the statute and although there seemed to be an issue in the legislature’s drafting of the law, the Court determined it was the legislature's job, and not the Court's to fix it.

See also

• Wythe's Judicial Career