State

Early Courts of Carolina There li.'is been ;i tremendous change in tlub structure of our courts in North Carolina and Mr. Lawrence lells .von of soim* of lliose changes and also about file iiumi ulio were among file early legal lights. MODERN lawyer* would have bill use for .lolin Locke who drew up I lie Fundamen¬ tal Constitution of Carolina in НИИ*, wherein it was declared to he a “base and vile thing to plead for money or reward” in any court. Notwithstanding this, the lawyers managed to gel along somehow. It is said there were no court- lmijses in the State prior to 1722. which I consider a doubtful state¬ ment in view of the ancient relic down at Kdenton where the ivy grew right through the brick wall into t ho register’s ofllce ; or the an¬ tique over at Elizabethtown, which is certainly older than the Tory Hole; or the one over at Yancey - ville. where they still show you the room in which John W. Stephens was killed during the days of re- construction. Under the Lords Proprietors I'ndcr tin1 Lords Proprietors, the judicial power was vested in: (a' Precinct courts, which were held by four magistrates, appointed by tin* Colonial Governor; (b) General courts, which were presided over by a Chief Justice and seven assistants; and (c) Courts of Chancery which were presiiled over by the Governor and the Deputies of the Lords Pro¬ prietors. In 1 7 l»i. there was a remodeling of the judicial structure, and the “General Court” was held twice a year by the Chief Justice and three associates at New Bern. The Chief Justice was appointed and commis¬ sioned by the King; the associate judges by the Governor and his Coun¬ cil. In 1767 Carolina was divided into six judicial districts - Wilmington, Newborn, Kdenton. Halifax, Hills- boro, and Salisbury- — and the courts were held at each place TWICE A YEAR by the Chief Justice and his associates. County Courts were hold in each county by the magistrates. The first publication of North Car¬ olina statutes was gotten out by Swann at Newborn in 1752, and was Bi# II. C. LAWRENCE called the “ Yellow Jacket.” Between that date and 1850 there were eight editions of revised statutes issued, and numerous other' down to our present Consolidated Statutes. Colonial judges had some queer ideas and wrote some curious epis¬ tles. Judge Maurice Moore writes to Col. Edmund Fanning up at Hills boro: "AS MUCH AS I IIATE WRITING. I am determined to scratch this side down with a bad pen and worse ink. ..." A Complete Revision The first legislature to meet under the State Constitution at Newborn in 1777' revised the whole statute law; and superior courts were au¬ thorized to be held semiannually at Wilmington Newborn, Edenton. Halifax. Hillsboro, and Salisbury. Three judges were elected; John Williams of Granville: Samuel Ashe of New Ilnnover. and Samuel Spen¬ cer of Anson. Morgan ton was made a judicial district in 1782, and Fay¬ etteville in 1787. Equity jurisdiction was given to the superior courts by the act of 1782. In 1790 a fourth judge was added, the State was divided into two circuits and an Attorney General was appointed. In 1806, superior courts were created in every county, and additional judges named. There was also an appellate court By the act of 1799 the judges of the Superior i 'our! were directed to meet twice each year at Raleigh to hear appeals in either legal or equitable eases, the court being styled the “Court of Conference.” In 1S05 the name was changed to that of the Su¬ preme Court In ISIS, the court ns now consti¬ tuted was created, the Superior Court judges no longer constituted the court, but the General Assembly elected three judges who constituted the court and held their office during good behaviour. The first members of the court were: John Louis Taylor of Cumberland, Chief Justice; Leon- nrd Henderson of Granville; and John Hall of Warren. Thomas Ruffin began bis great career on this lieneh in 1829, and became greatest of Southern lawyers; Joseph J. Daniel '.it from 1832 to his death in 1818; the great William Gaston from 1835 to his death in 1811 : Frederick Nash of Orange became a member of the court in 1ST!: and Chief Justico Pearson sat on the court from 1818 until hi' death long after the Civil War. He was the author of the fa¬ mous phrase “the judiciary is ex¬ hausted." Some Early Judges Among the early superior court judge' were: Samuel Ashe of New Hanover, who became Governor in 1795; Alfred Moore of Brunswick, appoint I'd justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1799; David Stone of Bertie, elected Gov¬ ernor in 1808; Archibald D. Mur- phoy, father of our public school sys¬ tem ; James Iredell, appointed a jus- tiee of the Supreme Court of the United Stat*-s; Willie I*. Mangum of Orange. United States Senator; George E. Badger of Wake. Secretary "f tile Navy. United States Senator, and nominated as justice of the Su¬ preme Court of the United States, but whose nomination was withdrawn "П account of the opposition of cer¬ tain Southern Senators; Robert Strange of Cumberland. United Stair» S nator: David L. Swain of Buncombe, elected Governor in 1832. president of the university; Romulus M. Saunders of Caswell, Minister to Spain, and John W. Ellis, Governor of the State at the beginning of the Civil War. I do not know whether it was •lolin Locke or not. but some gentle¬ man who evidently had Locke’s dis¬ like for lawyers, composed the follow¬ ing epitaph for a member of the Bar : "Here lies a Dodge who dodged all all good And dodged a deal of evil Who after dodging all he could He could not dodge the devil." e