Roger B. Taney

“ A verdict in any court of common law, if not set aside, is in all cases conclusive as to the fact found by the jury, and the judgment of the court must follow it; as the Orphans' Court must follow the verdict in this case. Yet a writ of error will not lie upon the verdict.
And if this court should take jurisdiction, and should determine that the Circuit Court had erred in its directions to the jury, what judgment could be given here? Could we give a judgment reversing an order which does nothing more than direct a fact to be certified to another court? ”

“ If the substance appears in the record, this court will not regard forms, because, if it did, its jurisdiction would fluctuate, and it would be in the power of the court below to oust it of its proper jurisdiction. The right of appeal must exist or not exist when the bill of exceptions is taken, and cannot depend upon the mode in which the judgment is rendered. ”

“ The absence of any such proceeding for so many years is the strongest evidence of the construction put upon the law, and of the opinion entertained by the bar of the State, that the writ would not lie. ”