Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 22.pdf/238

 An Attempt to Demolish the Doctrine of Stare Decz'sz's By JAMES T. HARRISON, or COLUMBUS, MISS. IN an action brought against the Mobile & Ohio Railroad Company by one Skipwith, a negro, for injuries due to the defendant's negligence, the railroad company lost, and taking exception to the court's rulings, ﬁled a suggestion of error, which the Supreme Court of Mississippi overruled. Counsel for the successful plaintiff thereupon ﬁled the fol lowing ironic reply to the court's answer to the suggestion of error. It is not the custom of the Gran Bag to publish briefs, but in this particular case counsel for the plaintilf-appellee advances in unique argument which if concurred in would lead to results sensational in the extreme.—Ed.]

SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI, APRIL TERM, AD. 1909 M.

(51’ O. R. R. Co. Appellant, v. Answer to Suggestion of Error. Jesse Skipwith, Appellee.

It will be noticed, in the above caption, that we have reversed the style of this cause for the Supreme Court has reversed it, hence, it is, the paradox of an appeal from the Court to the Court. As it is nothing unusual for the defendant to switch off on a siding, comment is unnecessary. As the mortality of martyred Stephen was about to be resolved back into its original elements,—-as the result of the murderous attack of fanatical _Iews,—and his sainted soul prepared to plume its flight to the orient meadows above, he asked our heavenly Father to permit him to enter a plea of igno rance (which he hoped would be received at that Court as valid) for his enemies; and the nobility of the sentiment has immortalized his memory—a lesson learned by him from both the words and example of our blessed Redeemer, in His culminating act of salva tion on the cruel cross of sacriﬁce. Since that fateful hour centuries have glided down the river of time and been en gulfed in the ocean of eternity; nations have risen and fallen on the earth like turbulent billows that frown the face of the deep; there have been signs in the air and wonders in the sky—electricity has turned night into day and wireless telegraphy has obliterated dis tance; but, it has remained to this unblessed day as the marvel of the hour for an artiﬁcial

person, without a soul to save or place to kick, to stalk unblushingly into the sanctum sanctorum of Themis and yell into the ear of the High Priest words to this effect: Thou hast entered judgment against me simply because I destroyed willfully the prop erty of a. citizen and attempted to take his life—and would, but for his cry for help to the Lord, who snatched him from the arms of the angel of Death, where I had thrown him. 'Tis true I made no defense, though oppor tunity was offered me, for, I would not rec ognize your authority by an appearance, and I do now, only to say “man, proud man, drest with a little brief authority, most ignorant of what he's most assured." What, if by my acts of commission I violated the law? What, if by my acts of omission I ignored the stat utes? I admit that, when I ploughed through the wagon of that citizen, I ran rough shod over the Code of Mississippi. 'Tis also a fact that when, without sound of bell or whistle, I ran a vn'ld-cat train with~ out time or schedule round a curve in a skirt of woods, I frightened his horses and saw him jump out and try to hold them,—which I saw he was unable to do,—but I did not stop my iron horse, or even attempt to; though it could have easily been accomplished, but so

regulated his speed, by ﬁrst slowing up and then releasing the brakes, that I thus calcu lated to a mathematical certainty on killing both the horses and the man at their head (for I saw they were dragging him in reach) and did succeed in killing one horse, wounding the other and knocking the man senseless and had the pleasure of hearing him cry out in great pain, "Oh! Lordy," as I hurled him with great force back across the track. It will teach him to keep out of the way next time. 'Tis true he did all he could to avoid the in jury and I did nothing—except to create it. He stopped, but I did not. I so frightened his horse that he lost all control of him, while mine was under perfect control all of the time. You are bound to admit that I had the advantage of him, in that respect. But, why all this "much ado about noth