The formerCourt of Appeals in Cases of Capture, established by resolution of theContinental Congress on January 15, 1780,[1] was the firstfederal court in theUnited States. The court had jurisdiction over cases for the capture of enemy ships and cargo.
The idea for the court originated from requests sent byGeneralGeorge Washington during theAmerican Revolution toPresident of CongressJohn Hancock,[2][3] but initially resulted in only the establishment of committees withinCongress to exercise suchjurisdiction.[4][5][6][7] Upon learning of this deviation from his earlier requests, Washington sent another request to Hancock again asking that Congress establish the court,[8][9] but Congress did not fulfill his request until almost four years later.[1]
The Court operated from shortly after its founding in 1780[13] through its final cases in 1787.[14] It officially ceased to exist followingratification of theU.S. Constitution in 1789[15] that transferred federal judicial power to the newly createdU.S. Supreme Court and such other inferior (i.e., lower)federal courts as Congress may establish.[16][17]
On November 25, 1775,Congress also asserted federalappellatejurisdiction over such cases.[7] After repeated scheduling difficulties when Congress attempted to hear the first appeal,[19][20][21] Congress initially assigned that jurisdiction to various special committees,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] followed by a standing committee on January 30, 1777.[30][31]
Later, on January 15, 1780, Congress established the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture to exercise that jurisdiction as acourt of last resort.[32] On May 24, 1780, Congress transferred all remaining appeals pending before committees to the Court and specified that all future appeals were to be filed directly with the Court.[33]
On June 27, 1786, the Court's jurisdiction was again expanded to includerehearings and new trials in certain cases wherever justice so required.[34]
Special jurisdiction was also conferred upon the Court on February 11, 1782 for a capture adjudicated by a prize court inConnecticut[35] and on July 24, 1786 for a capture of the sloopChester.[36]
The first session of the Court was required to be held inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania at the earliest opportunity.[32] Subsequent sessions were to be held at other times and locations in the United States as deemed conducive to the public good, but no farther east thanHartford, Connecticut, and no farther south thanWilliamsburg, Virginia.[32]Congress later specified the time and location for some sessions of the Court, including specific sessions to be held at Hartford, Connecticut; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;Richmond, Virginia; andNew York, New York.[34][37]
The primary means of initiating anappeal to the Court required a party to first demand an appeal in thetrial court within five days after definitive sentence and then file an appeal in and give adequate security to the Court within forty days after demanding an appeal in the trial court.[38] On Sept. 5, 1781, an extension of time for appeal was granted in the case of a capture decided in favor of Patrick Mahon against Roger Kean.[39] Additionally, some appeals filed with Congress and referred to committees were subsequently transferred to the Court.[38][40]
Trial by jury was considered inconsistent with theusage of nations, and, therefore, was not authorized in the Court.[32] However, trial by jury was authorized in some of the stateprize courts,[18] where Congress initially recommended it,[7] only to later recommend against it.[41]
In any case before the Court that involved a capture suspected of being collusive, the Court was required to demand sufficient proof to the contrary from the captor, and if the captor failed to meet that burden, the Court was required to award the prize to the state in which the original trial had been held.[42]
You do swear [or affirm] that you will well, faithfully and impartially execute the office of one of the judges of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture, according to the best of your skill and judgment. So help you God.[43]
Initially, the judges received annual salaries for their services with reimbursement for expenses,[32][44] but their compensation was later changed to provide for only fixed daily rates, including time spent traveling on official business of the Court.[45][46][47]
The following individuals were elected byCongress to serve as judges on the Court:
William Paca (elected Jan. 22, 1780;[48] accepted Feb. 8, 1780;[49] resigned November 21, 1782[50]).
Titus Hosmer (elected Jan. 22, 1780;[48] accepted April 12, 1780;[51] died in office Aug. 4, 1780[52]).
Surviving records show that a total of fifty-six cases were lodged with and adjudicated or otherwise disposed of by the Court, including eleven cases that were transferred from committees withinCongress to the Court.[59]
Although the Court did not generally issue formal written opinions of its decisions, opinions of the Court were nonetheless published in the following cases:[60][61]
The Resolution,2U.S. (2Dall.) 1 (Ct. App. in Cases of Capture 1781).
The Resolution,2U.S. (2Dall.) 19 (Ct. App. in Cases of Capture 1781) (rehearing).
The Erstern,2U.S. (2Dall.) 34 (Ct. App. in Cases of Capture 1782).
The Gloucester,2U.S. (2Dall.) 36 (Ct. App. in Cases of Capture 1782).
The Squirrel,2U.S. (2Dall.) 40 (Ct. App. in Cases of Capture 1783) (authorized sale of ship to avoid deterioration; proceeds from sale remained subject to adjudication).
The Speedwell,2U.S. (2Dall.) 40 (Ct. App. in Cases of Capture 1784) (reversed condemnation because capture occurred after preliminary articles of peace).
Luke v. Hulbert,2 Dall. *41 (Ct. App. in Cases of Capture 1787) (dismissed) (using star pagination from 1st ed.).
The Experiment v. The Chester,2 Dall. *41 (Ct. App. in Cases of Capture 1787) (dismissed) (using star pagination from 1st ed.).
Custody of records from the Court was first transferred to theU.S. Supreme Court.[62] However, theNational Archives now maintains custody of the records.[63][64] Under the terms of28 USC §6, the Archives treat the court's records "in the manner provided by law for giving copies of the records and proceedings of the Supreme Court," and "such copies shall have the same faith and credit as proceedings of the Supreme Court.[65]
^J.C. Bancroft Davis,Federal Courts,131 U.S. app. at xxviii, xxix, and xxxv–xlix (see cases numbered 21, 38, 40, 45, 49, 50, 53, 56, 65 through 68, and 72 adjudicated or otherwise disposed of in 1780).
^J.C. Bancroft Davis,Federal Courts,131 U.S. app. at xxviii, xxix, and xxxv–xlix (see cases numbered 87, 89, 103, and 109 adjudicated or otherwise disposed of in 1787).
^Penhallow v. Doane's Adm'rs, 3 U.S. 54 (1795), 86 (opinion ofPaterson, J.) ("The existence of the Court of Appeals [in Cases of Capture] terminated with the old government [of the United States of America] . . . .").
J.C. Bancroft Davis,Federal Courts Prior to the Adoption of the Constitution, in131 U.S. app. at xix-–lxiii (New York and Albany, Banks & Brothers 1889).
Henry J. Bourguignon,The First Federal Court: The Federal Appellate Prize Court of the American Revolution, 1775–1787, in 122 Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society (1977).
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