Loving v. United States

Chief Judge GIERKE

delivered the opinion of the Court.

I. INTRODUCTION

Senior Judge Robinson O. Everett, writing for this Court, once quoted the fundamental *134legal maxim, ‘“Always salt down the facts first; the law will keep.’ ”1 He reaffirmed this point with this intuitive observation, “ ‘In the very nature of things, it is impossible for a court to enter a valid judgment declaring the rights of parties to litigation until the facts on which those rights depend have been “salted down” in a manner sanctioned by law.’ ”2 Although we address several issues here, the pivotal issue is whether this…