John McKinley

“ No rule made by a district judge will, therefore, be recognised by this court as binding, except those made by district courts exercising circuit court powers. The statute of Mississippi, taking away the right to a writ of error, in the case of a forthcoming bond forfeited, can have no influence whatever in regulating writs of error to the circuit courts of the United States; a rule of court adopting the statute as arule of practice would, therefore, be void. ”

“ And among these duties is to be found one, prescribed to the sheriff, directing him to restore personal property levied on by him, to the defendant, upon his executing a forthcoming bond, according to law, and the further duty to return it to the court, forfeited, if the defendant fail to deliver the property, on the day of sale, according to the condition of the bond. These are certainly proceedings upon an execution; and therefore, the forthcoming bond must be regarded as part of the final process. It aids materially in securing the payment of the money to satisfy the judgment ”

“ If the contract be joint and several, and the defendants sever in their pleas, whatever may have been the doubts and conflicting opinions of former times, as to the effect of a effect of a nolle prosequi in such a case, it has never been held, that a simple discontinuance of a suit amounted to a retraxit, or that it in any manner worked a bar to the repetition of the plaintiff's action. ”