Duffield v. Smith
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
rT'iHIS was an action of trespass, assault and battery, and false imprisonment, against Isaac Deaves president of a militia court martial, Joseph Lloyd the judge advocate, and John Smith marshal of the Pennsylvania district, bail 3000 dollars; and it came now before the Court upon a rule to shew the cause of action, and why the defendants should not be discharged on common bail.
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rT'iHIS was an action of trespass, assault and battery, and false imprisonment, against Isaac Deaves president of a militia court martial, Joseph Lloyd the judge advocate, and John Smith marshal of the Pennsylvania district, bail 3000 dollars; and it came now before the Court upon a rule to shew the cause of action, and why the defendants should not be discharged on common bail. The plaintiff’s affidavit set forth, that some weeks since he was served with a notice signed by Deaves, requiring him to appear before a court martial, to answer for a disobedience of orders of the President of the…
1Opinion of the Court
Tilghman C. J.
I think it unnecessary in the present stage of the action, to give an opinion, whether the proceedings of the court martial have been conformable to law. Let it be supposed that the plaintiff has shewn cause of action. That is putting the matter on the most favourable footing for him. The general rule is, that in actions of trespass, bail is not demandable, because there is no standard by which the damages can be measured. But there are exceptions to this rule. One is, where the defendant is about to depart out of the jurisdiction of the court. Another is, where there has been a…