1. Under amended Rule 6, the plaintiff in error or the appellant
may, with a motion to dismiss the writ of error or the appeal,
unite a motion to affirm the judgment or the decree, but where
there is no color of right to a dismissal, the case being clearly
within the jurisdiction of this Court, a motion to affirm merely
will not be sustained.
2. The Court declares that it will by the assessment of damages
suppress the evil of resorting to its jurisdiction upon frivolous
grounds.
Motion to affirm the judgment of the court below.
MR. CHIEF JUSTICE WAITE delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is a motion to affirm only. Our amended Rule 6 allows a
motion to affirm to be united with a motion to dismiss. This
implies that there shall appear on the record at least some color
of right to a dismissal. That is not pretended in this case. We are
therefore compelled to deny the motion. Our experience teaches that
the only way to discourage frivolous appeals and writs of error is
by the use of our power to award damages, and we think this a
proper case in which to say that hereafter more attention will be
given to that subject, and the rule enforced both according to its
letter and spirit. Parties should not be subjected to the delay of
proceedings for review in this Court without reasonable cause, and
our power to make compensation to some extent for the loss
occasioned by an unwarranted delay ought not to be overlooked.