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''West v. Barnes'', 2 U.S. 401 (1791), was the first United States Supreme Court decision and the earliest case calling for oral argument.〔Timothy W. Larson, ("West v. Barnes: The First Supreme Court Decision" ), ''Rhode Island Bar Association Journal'', July/Aug 2010, pg. 13-15 (59-AUG RIBJ 13)〕〔(U.S. Supreme Court Records of Earliest caselaw PDF (accessed April 24, 2009) )〕 ''Van Staphorst v. Maryland'' (1791) was docketed prior to ''West v. Barnes'' but settled before the Court heard the case: ''West'' was argued on August 2, 1791 and decided on August 3, 1791. ''Collet v. Collet'' (1791) was the first appellate case docketed with the Court but was dropped before it could be heard.〔Timothy W. Larson, "West v. Barnes: The First Supreme Court Decision", ''Rhode Island Bar Association Journal'', July/Aug 2010, pg. 13-15 ()〕 Supreme Court Reporter Alexander Dallas did not publish the justices' full opinions in ''West v. Barnes'', which were published in various newspapers around the country at the time, but he published an abbreviated summary of the decisions. The Court ultimately decided the case on procedural grounds, holding that a writ of error (appeal) must be issued within ten days by the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States as required by federal statute, and not by a lower court located closer to the plaintiff in Rhode Island. As a result of this case, Congress ultimately changed this procedure with the ninth section of the Judicial Act of 1792 allowing circuit courts to issue these writs, thereby assisting citizens living far away from the capital.〔James R. Perry, ''The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800'', Volume 6, "West v. Barnes," pp. 3-27. ()〕 ==Background== This was one of the earliest potential cases of judicial review in the United States where the Court had the opportunity to overturn a Rhode Island state statute regarding lodging payment of a debt in paper currency in fulfillment of a contract. The court did not exercise judicial review in deference to the legislature. The court ultimately decided against William West, the petitioner, on procedural grounds.〔〔''Earliest Cases of Judicial Review of State Legislation by Federal Courts'', by Charles Warren, The Yale Law Journal, 1922, pg. 22-23. (accessed through JSTOR)〕 William West was a farmer, revolutionary war militia general, anti-federalist leader, and judge from Scituate, Rhode Island. West owed a mortgage on his farm from a failed molasses deal in 1763 to the Jenckes family from Providence. West made payments on the mortgage for twenty years, and in 1785 asked the state for permission to conduct a lottery to help pay off the remainder. Due to his service during the Revolution, the state granted him permission. Much of the proceeds were paid in paper currency instead of gold or silver. West tendered payment in the paper currency as allowed by state statute by "lodging" the funds with a state judge to be collected within ten days.〔 David Leonard Barnes, an heir of Jenckes and well-known attorney and later federal judge, eventually brought suit in federal court based on diversity jurisdiction asserting that gold or silver payment was required and refusing the paper currency. Despite lack of formal training, West represented himself pro se in the circuit court in June 1791 before Chief Justice John Jay, Associate Justice William Cushing, and Henry Marchant. They rejected his arguments. West then attempted to appeal to the Supreme Court on a writ of error, attempting to comply with all statutory directions. West was unable to make the journey to Philadelphia to represent himself, so he engaged William Bradford, Jr., Pennsylvania's attorney general, to represent him. On appeal, Barnes focused on the procedural irregularities. Barnes asserted that the writ had been signed and sealed only by the clerk of the circuit court in Rhode Island instead of by the Supreme Court clerk, which he claimed as necessary. This was asserted despite the fact that West would have had to make an arduous journey in 1791 to Philadelphia within ten days to do so. West lost on this procedural issue and was eventually forced to relinquish his farm.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「West v. Barnes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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