William Cranch

“ The passing of a note, check, or draft is prima facie a lawful act; and every man is presumed innocent until the contrary appears.
All the facts charged in the indictment may be true, and yet the traverser not guilty. If the indictment had simply charged the passing [**3] of a note, check, or draft for the payment of one dollar, it would not have charged any offence, unless the note had been averred to be, "paper currency," or "paper medium," &c. But it charges the traverser with passing a note and bank bill. ”

“ In favor of this conclusion, the conduct of juries bears ample testimony; for, to their honor be it remembered, that the examples of their resisting the advice of a judge, in points of law, are rare, except where they have been provoked into such an opposition by the grossness of his own misconduct, or betrayed into an unjust suspicion of his integrity by the misrepresentation and ill-practice of others. In [**24] civil cases, particularly, where the title of real property is in question, juries almost universally find a special verdict as often as the judge recommends their so doing ”

“ It is said that if a man gives a right sentence upon hearing one side only, he is a wicked judge, because [**48] he is right by chance only, and has neglected to take the proper method to be informed; so the jury who usurp the judicature of the law, though they happen to be right, are themselves wrong, because they are right by chance only; and have not taken the constitutional way of deciding the question. "It is the duty of the judge, in all cases of general justice, to tell the jury how to do right, though they have it in their power to do wrong ”

“ That the special verdict (in No. 107) is not sufficient to justify a judgment against the defendant, because it does not find that the defendant passed the bank bill mentioned in the indictment. It only finds that the defendant gave, in change to the witness, a half dollar in silver, and two one-dollar notes, which the witness "thought it likely were Maryland notes," and that these notes were passed by the defendant to the witness, "in the manner, and at the time and place stated in the evidence." ”

“ Its title (which may be resorted to, to ascertain the evil which was in the contemplation of the legislature, although it will not restrict the enacting clauses, if they clearly go beyond it) is, "to restrain the circulation of small notes as a currency;" and the enacting clauses forbid the issuing or passing of "any note, check, draft, bank bill, or any other paper currency of a less denomination than five dollars;" ”

“ As I said before, they do not know, and are not presumed to know any thing of the matter; they do not understand the language in which it is conceived, or the meaning of the terms. They have no rule to go by, but their affections and wishes. ”