John Marshall

“ The inquiry would seem to be, whether, under any possible view of the transaction, Toler could be tainted with the guilt of Armstrong, so as to affect the contract in suit, unless he had an interest in the goods. This was probably not the intention of the jury, because an answer to this question is to be found in the charge. The Judge had stated, that if Toler was the contriver of, or concerned in, a scheme to introduce these goods into the United States, or had consented to become the consignee with a view to their introduction, these circumstances would vitiate the contract. ”

“ Reynous, that if one person pay the debt of another at his request, an action may be sustained to recover the money, although the original contract was unlawful, goes far in deciding the question now before the Court. That the person who paid the money knew it was paid in discharge of a debt not recoverable at law, has never been held to alter the case. ”

“ And if the contract be, in fact, only connected with the illegal transaction, and growing immediately out of it, though it be in fact a new contract, it is equally tainted by it.' There is much reason to believe that the jury could not have intended to put a question which had been already answered, and that they might design to ask, whether, having goods on board belonging to himself, would place him in the same situation as if interested with Armstrong. ”

“ In these, and in all similar cases, the consideration of the very contract on which the suit is brought is vicious, and the plaintiff has contributed to the illegal transaction. One of the strongest cases in the books is Steers v. Laishley, (6 Term Rep. 61.) where the broker, who had been concerned in stock jobbing transactions, and had paid the losses, drew a bill of exchange for the amount on the defendant, and, after its acceptance, endorsed it to a person who knew of the illegal transaction on which it was drawn, the Court held, that such endorsee could not recover on the bill. ”