Document Type
Judgment
Publication Date
10-8-1766
Article Footnote
Article 2, footnote 151
Book Footnote
Chapter 6, footnote 25
Abstract
... Nathaniel Woodman of Salem, New Hampshire found himself on the losing end of a lawsuit tried before a Justice of the Peace named John Ober. Ordered to pay the plaintiff 20 shillings, Woodman requested an attested copy of the judgment in order to take an appeal. But, Woodman complained, Ober, “contrary to his ... office, oath and duty,” refused to provide the document, thereby damaging Woodman to the tune of £10. Woodman recovered 5 shillings plus court costs at the trial level, a sum increased to 30 shillings plus costs when Ober appealed.
Comments
Improper official behavior was not confined to false imprisonments and neither were damages actions.