Lemmon v. New York
Encyclopedia
Lemmon v. New York a decision by the Superior Court of the City of New York, granted freedom to slaves who were brought into New York by their Virginia slave owners, while in transit to Texas.

Background

In November 1852, Jonathan Lemmon and his wife Juliet, who were residents of Virginia, to the steamer City of Richmond from Norfolk, Virginia to New York with eight slaves belonging to Mrs. Lemmon; for the purpose of catching a follow-on boat to Texas where they planned to reside. The slaves were Emiline (age 23); Nancy (age 20); Lewis, brother of Nancy (age 16); Edward, brother of Emiline (age 13); Lewis and Edward, sons of Nancy (age 7); Ann, daughter of Nancy (age 5); and Amanda, daughter of Emiline (age 2). While waiting for the boat the slaves were placed in a boarding house at No. 3 Carlisle Street, where they were discovered by another African American, Louis Napoleon. On 6 November 1852, Louis presented a petition to one of the Justices of the Superior Court of New York City, the Honorable Elijah Paine, for a writ of Habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...

 producing the slaves based on an 1817 New York law that stated

No person held as a slave shall be imported, introduced, or brought into this State on any pretense whatever. Every such person shall be free.


Lemmon's attorneys relied on the Supreme Court's ruling in Gibbons v. Ogden
Gibbons v. Ogden
Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 , was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. The case was argued by some of America's most admired and...

 (1824) to argue to the New York Court of Appeals that states had no right to regulate interstate commerce as that power lay in the hands of the federal government. The state of New York argued that the U.S. Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

 granted limited powers to the federal government, and those powers not granted were reserved for the state. Under the provision of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 that required states to return fugitive slaves, the state argued that any requirement for states to return non-fugitive slaves was excluded. Using the term expressio unius exclusio alterius meaning "the express mention of one thing excludes all others."

Decision

On November 13, 1852, Judge Paine of the Superior Court of the City of New York held that necessity did not require the Lemmons travel to Texas via New York. Thus, the slaves were free according to New York state law. Paine relied on the English precedent set in Somersett v. Stewart
Somersett's Case
R v Knowles, ex parte Somersett 20 State Tr 1 is a famous judgment of the English Court of King's Bench in 1772 which held that slavery was unsupported by law in England and Wales...

 (1772), where the Court of King's Bench declared that only positive law could uphold slavery and that since England had no laws upholding slavery, slaves entering English territory became free.

Mr. Lemmon then appealed to the New York Supreme Court, which affirmed Justice Paine in December 1857. Mr. Lemmon then appealed to the New York Court of Appeals
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...

(the state's highest appellate court). The Court of Appeals affirmed by a vote of 5-3 in March 1860, holding that the slaves were free.
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