Samuel Freeman Miller

“ I submit, however, that under our system of government the citizen may demand that the courts shall determine his claim to, or his alleged lien upon, property, by whatever individuals that property may be held, and that he cannot be denied an adjudication and enforcement of that claim merely because the individuals sued assert right of possession and title in the government they represent. ”

“ If the citizen asserts a claim or lien upon property in the possession of officers of a state, the doors of the courts of justice, whether the suit be at law or in equity, ought not to be closed against him because those officers assert ownership in the state. ”

“ The circuit court refused the relief asked in each case, and this court affirmed the judgment of that court. The short statement of the reason for this judgment is that as the state could not be sued or made a party to such proceeding, there was no jurisdiction in the circuit court, either by mandamus at law or by a decree in chancery, to take charge of the treasury of the state, and, seizing the hands of the auditor and treasurer, to make distribution of the funds found in the treasury in the manner which the court might think just. ”

“ The judgment in that case did not conclude the United States, as the opinion carefully stated, but held the officers liable as unauthorized trespassers, and turned them out of their unlawful possession.
3. A third class, which has given rise to more controversy, is where the law has imposed upon an officer of the government a well-defined duty in regard to a specific matter, not affecting the general powers or functions of the government, but in the performance of which one or more individuals have a distinct interest capable of enforcement by judicial process. ”

“ To make out his defense he must show that his authority was sufficient in law to protect him. See Mitchell v. Harmony, 13 How. 115; Bates v. Clark, 95 U.S. 209; Meigs v. McClung, 9 Cranch, 11; Wilcox v. Jackson, 13 Pet. 498; Brown v. Huger, 21 How. 305 ”