State V. Marley Case Summary

In the case State v. Marley (1847), a slave by the name of Marley had assaulted a white man physically and was very rude and disrespectful to him as well. Marley was tried in County Court of New Hanover and was found guilty of assault and battery and insolence against a white man. He was then sentenced to be whipped twenty-five times. After receiving the punishment, Marley’s master appealed to the Court of Pleas for the same convictions. The court found Marley guilty and sentenced him to the same punishment the County Court gave him, twenty-five stripes. Another appeal was made by Marley’s master to the Superior Court where the Attorney-General of the state took over as the appealer. Marley had no counsel in the Superior Court. The issue of this …show more content…
Nash states that the judge of the County Court should not have given the go for a higher appeal. Even though the justice puts the blame on a lower judge, you can sense a bit of hostility towards Marley’s master. The issue was stated as so, “Has the master of the slave Marley a right to appeal from the County to the Superior Court?” The issue states “the master.” It isn’t written, “Does the judge of the County Court have the right to authorize an appeal to a higher court.” Later on in the hearing it’s states again that the defendant’s master had no right to do what he did. This is pinning a large amount of blame on the master. In any regular situation involving the punishment of a slave, the thought would arise that he would have every right to punish him as severely as possible by appealing to one court after another, but not in this case. J Nash says that the line of punishment should have ended at the County Court; Marley should have only accumulated twenty-five scars on his body, not fifty. The justice seems to try to cover up what distaste he shows towards the defendant’s master by stating that he should have appealed directly to the Superior Court with a certiorari, or writ of