Commonwealth v. Fells
General Court of Virginia
Sidney Fells, a free man of colour, was indicted in the circuit superiour court of law and chancery for the county of Henrico and city of Richmond, for an assault upon William R. Geddy, a free white person, with intent to kill him ; an oilence which, by the statute passed March 15. 1832 (Sess. Acts of 1831--2, ch. 22. •§ 6. Supplem. to Rev. Code, p. 247.) is made punishable with death.
Read the full summary
Sidney Fells, a free man of colour, was indicted in the circuit superiour court of law and chancery for the county of Henrico and city of Richmond, for an assault upon William R. Geddy, a free white person, with intent to kill him ; an oilence which, by the statute passed March 15. 1832 (Sess. Acts of 1831--2, ch. 22. •§ 6. Supplem. to Rev. Code, p. 247.) is made punishable with death. On the 16th of May 1838, a jury being impaunelled for the trial of the prisoner, and having heard the evidence, were sent out of court to consult of their verdict, and after some time, not having agreed in a…
1Opinion of the CourtUpshur, J.
delivered the opinion of the court.—'This court is desirous at all times to decline the expression of any opinion upon points not necessarily involved in the particular case before it. The first question, which presents the case of a mere inability of the jury to agree in a verdict, is of this description. If the course pursued by the court below can derive its justification from the facts and circumstances which existed in the case as disclosed by the record, it is unnecessary and might be mischievous to enquire what would be the power of the court under a condition of things much less…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- United States v. PerezSupreme Court of the United States · 1824
- People v. OlcottNew York Supreme Court · 1801
- Commonwealth v. BowdenMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1813
- Commonwealth v. ClueSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1831
- People v. DentonNew York Supreme Court · 1801
3Cited by8 opinions
- Ex Parte LewisCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 2007
- Ramos v. LouisianaSupreme Court of the United States · 2020
- Hinton v. United StatesDistrict of Columbia Court of Appeals · 2009
- Melvin Wofford v. Jeffrey WoodsCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · 2020
- Ex Parte LewisCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas · 2007
3 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.