Beers v. Arkansas

Under the Constitution of the State of Arkansas, the Legislature passed a law allowing the State to be sued.

According to this law, a suit was brought upon some of the State bonds; and whilst the suit was going on, the Legislature passed another law, requiring the bonds to be filed in court, or the suit to be dismissed.

The suitor refusing to file his bonds, the suit was dismissed; and the case was carried to the Supreme Court of the State, where the judgment was affirmed.

The case, being brought to this court under the twenty-fifth section of the judiciary act must be dismissed for want of jurisdiction.

The permission to bring the suit was not a contract whose obligations were impaired by the passage of the subsequent law.

[p528] THESE three cases depended upon the same principle, and are therefore classed together. The report in the first-named case will apply to them all. It was a case which was brought up from the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas, by a writ of error, issued under the twenty-fifth section of the judiciary act.

The case is stated in the opinion of the court.

It was argued by Mr. Pike for the plaintiff in error, and by Mr. Hempstead for the defendant.

1. [Together with two additional cases styled William A. Platenius, Administrator of James Holford, Deceased, Plaintiff in Error, v. The State of Arkansas.]