Governor v. Pearce
Supreme Court of Alabama
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Tallapoosa. Tried before the Hon. E. "W. Pettus. This action was brought in the name of Henry W. Collier, for the use of Henry A. Temple, against Stephen A. Pearce, sheriff of Coosa county, and the sureties on his official bond; and sought a recovery for injuries caused by the jailor’s negligence, in the treatment of a slave belonging to said Temple, while in jail as a runaway.
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Appeal from the Circuit Court of Tallapoosa. Tried before the Hon. E. "W. Pettus. This action was brought in the name of Henry W. Collier, for the use of Henry A. Temple, against Stephen A. Pearce, sheriff of Coosa county, and the sureties on his official bond; and sought a recovery for injuries caused by the jailor’s negligence, in the treatment of a slave belonging to said Temple, while in jail as a runaway. On the trial, as the bill of exceptions states, “the plaintiff introduced evidence, tending to show that said slave was his property, and was apprehended by one Thomas 0. Dunlap, an…
1Opinion of the CourtWaleer, J.
— The charge given, and the refusal to charge, present the following question: Are a sheriff and his sureties liable, in a suit upon his official bond, for an injury to a slave, while in jail, caused by the jailor’s negligence, which slave was apprehended by a justice of the peace, and by him carried directly to the jail, and delivered to the sheriff and jailor as a “runaway.”
There was no breach of the sheriff’s bond, unless the custody and keeping of the negro was an official duty. Such a duty could not have devolved upon the sheriff, unless the slave was committed to jail as a “runaway,” by…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Governor ex rel. Simmons v. HancockSupreme Court of Alabama · 1841
- Dumas & Co. v. PattersonSupreme Court of Alabama · 1846
- Dean v. GovernorSupreme Court of Alabama · 1848
- Farmers' Bank of Chattahoochie v. ReidSupreme Court of Alabama · 1842
- Fitzpatrick v. Branch Bank at MontgomerySupreme Court of Alabama · 1848
3Cited by1 opinion
- Maddox v. HudgeonsCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1903