The Court of Chancery was the court with jurisdiction in cases of equity in the state of Michigan between 1836 and 1847, presided over by a Chancellor. In certain cases, appeal could be made to the Michigan Supreme Court. [1]
The law creating the Court of Chancery took effect July 4, 1836 and it was abolished on March 1, 1847, with its jurisdiction given to the circuit courts. [2] During this time, only two men served as Chancellor. [1] The Chancellor was an ex officio member of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan.
No. | Image | Name | Term |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Elon Farnsworth | 1836–1842 | |
2 | Randolph Manning | 1842–1846 | |
3 | Elon Farnsworth | 1846–1847 |
In the field of jurisprudence, equity is the particular body of law, developed in the English Court of Chancery, with the general purpose of providing legal remedies for cases wherein the common law is inflexible and cannot fairly resolve the disputed legal matter. Conceptually, equity was part of the historical origins of the system of common law of England, yet is a field of law separate from common law, because equity has its own unique rules and principles, and was administered by courts of equity.
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the estates of lunatics and the guardianship of infants.
Chancellor is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the cancelli of a basilica, which separated the judge and counsel from the audience. A chancellor's office is called a chancellery or chancery. The word is now used in the titles of many various officers in various settings. Nowadays the term is most often used to describe:
A consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England where they were originally established pursuant to a charter of King William the Conqueror, and still exist today, although since about the middle of the 19th century consistory courts have lost much of their subject-matter jurisdiction. Each diocese in the Church of England has a consistory court.
James Kent was an American jurist, New York legislator, legal scholar, and first Professor of Law at Columbia College. His Commentaries on American Law became the formative American law book in the antebellum era and also helped establish the tradition of law reporting in America. He is sometimes called the "American Blackstone".
The Exchequer of Pleas, or Court of Exchequer, was a court that dealt with matters of equity, a set of legal principles based on natural law and common law in England and Wales. Originally part of the curia regis, or King's Council, the Exchequer of Pleas split from the curia in the 1190s to sit as an independent central court. The Court of Chancery's reputation for tardiness and expense resulted in much of its business transferring to the Exchequer. The Exchequer and Chancery, with similar jurisdictions, drew closer together over the years until an argument was made during the 19th century that having two seemingly identical courts was unnecessary. As a result, the Exchequer lost its equity jurisdiction. With the Judicature Acts, the Exchequer was formally dissolved as a judicial body by an Order in Council on 16 December 1880.
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Reuben Hyde Walworth was an American lawyer, jurist and politician. Although nominated three times to the United States Supreme Court by President John Tyler in 1844, the U.S. Senate never attempted a confirmation vote. Known for his simplification of equity law in the United States, Walworth served as a chancery judge in New York for more than three decades, including nearly two decades as Chancellor of New York before a new state constitution abolished that highest statewide judicial office. Walworth also ran unsuccessfully for Governor of New York in 1848, and received a commission from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1850 concerning the Wheeling Suspension Bridge.
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The New York Court of Chancery was the highest court in the State of New York from 1701 to 1847.
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Elon Farnsworth was an American lawyer and politician. He served as both Attorney General and Chancellor of the state of Michigan. He was also the founder of the Detroit Savings Fund Institute, the precursor to Comerica Bank.
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