Samuel Freeman Miller

“ I make no captious criticism by reason of the fact that the opinion of the court is mainly directed to the constitutional provision extending the judicial power of the United States to cases arising under that instrument and the laws and treaties made under its authority, while the word used in the statute is suits. The language of the Constitution may be broad enough to sustain a statute which authorizes the removal of a cause at any stage when a case is made, which, taken as a whole, requires a judgment based upon the Constitution, a law, or a treaty of the United States. ”

“ It is always a matter of delicacy when a cause of which a court has undoubted jurisdiction is transferred, at the instance of one party, to another court of concurrent jurisdiction. It is especially so when the transfer is to be made to a Federal from a State court, without regard to the consent of the latter, and against the objection of the other party. ”

“ And when the application has been refused, and the State courts, up to the highest to which the cause can be carried, have considered and decided it upon its merits, the judgment finally rendered should not be treated as a nullity, unless the case upon which the want of jurisdiction of these courts depends is made very plain indeed. ”