Robert Cooper Grier

“ It was held in this last case that Congress might confer jurisdiction, and at the same time might ratify and legitimate an action already commenced in a court which, until the act in question, had no jurisdiction of the matter. The doctrine of vested rights never restrains a legislature from advancing justice or remedying wrongs. It is intended to prevent oppression and injustice, not to afford them an impunity. ”

“ They are not liable to the imputation of being assumptions of judicial power.
The constitutional difficulty attempted to be raised on the argument, that Congress cannot authorize this court to issue a mandate to a State court, in a mere matter of State jurisdiction, is factitious and imaginary. It is founded on the assumption, that all the questions which we have heretofore decided are contrary to law, and is but a repetition of the former objections which have been overruled by the court under another form of expression. ”

“ If a State tribunal could not take possession of the record of a court removed legally to this court, nor exercise jurisdiction in the case without authority of Congress (as we have decided) , without the legislation of Congress, they must necessarily accept and exercise it subject to the conditions imposed by the act which authorizes them to receive the record. ”

“ We do not perceive any difficulty even in removing a judgment to this court after the admission of the State. The record remains a valid paper in the hands of an officer whose duties, except as custodian of the records, have ceased. [2] And it is settled that the writ of error to remove a record may go to the place where the record is lawfully deposited, and to the court or officer having lawful custody of it. There is no necessity that it should go to the tribunal which pronounced the judgment sought to be reversed. ”

“ The extinction of the Territorial government, and conversion of the Territory into a State under our peculiar institutions, necessarily produce some anomalous results and questions which cannot be solved by precedents from without.
It cannot be disputed that Congress has the exclusive power of legislation in and over the Territories, and, consequently, that the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over the courts established therein, 'under such regulations as Congress may make.' [13] In the case of Benner v. ”

“ This court would have the same right to issue its mandate as in cases where we have jurisdiction over the decisions of the State courts, under the 25th section of the Judiciary Act, and for the same reasons, because we have jurisdiction to hear and decide the case.
II. Having disposed of the question of jurisdiction, the case presents no difficulty.
As to the case made on the motion for a new trial: our decision has always been, that the granting or refusing a new trial is a matter of discretion with the court below, which we cannot review on writ of error. ”

“ It is hard to perceive on what grounds the parties should give their private conversations or correspondence with one another or their agent to establish their own case, or show that they had not held themselves out to the public as partners of the deceased. ”