Ex Parte Brown - 116 U.S. 401 (1886)
- Syllabus
- Case
U.S. Supreme Court
Ex Parte Brown, 116 U.S. 401 (1886)
Ex Parte Brown
Submitted January 13, 1886
Decided January 18, 1886
116 U.S. 401
Syllabus
The dismissal of a cause by the supreme court of a territory, because errors had not been assigned according to the roles of practice applicable to the form of action, is a judgment which can only be reviewed by writ of error or appeal, as the case may be.
This was a motion for leave to file a petition for a writ of mandamus. The petition, which accompanied the motion, showed that the petitioners commenced a suit in ejectment in the Territory of Washington on the 10th of July, 1854; that the defendant answered, denying the plaintiff's right to recover and setting up various separate defenses; that the plaintiffs demurred; that the court overruled the demurrer; that the plaintiffs having elected to stand upon the ruling of the court on the demurrer, the case was dismissed; that the plaintiffs thereupon appealed to the supreme court of the territory; that transcripts of the record were duly filed in the supreme court and the causes removed and docketed there; that a motion was made by defendant to dismiss the appeal because the action was at law and could be reexamined only on writ of error; that the motion was sustained and judgment entered accordingly, and that the amount in controversy was largely in excess of $5,000. The prayer of the petition was for a writ of mandamus to the supreme court of the territory directing it to set aside the judgment, to reinstate the case, and to decide it on the merits.
