Republic of Texas v. Inglish | |
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Court | Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas |
Full case name | Republic of Texas v. Heirs of Joseph Inglish, deceased |
Decided | 1844 |
Citation(s) | Dallam 608 (1844); 1844 WL 3914 (Tex.Rep.Sup.) |
Holding | |
That to be a valid claim for land, the land claim must have been authorized by the constitution after March 2, 1836; or by authority under Mexican law prior to that date | |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | John Hemphill, R. E. B. Baylor, Patrick C. Jack, William E. Jones, William J. Jones, Richard Morris, William B. Ochiltree |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Wm. E. Jones |
Republic of Texas v. Inglish, Dallam 608 (1844), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas which held that to be a valid claim for land, the land claim must have been authorized by the constitution after March 2, 1836; or by authority under Mexican law prior to that date.
On December 25, 1835, Joseph Inglish and his family immigrated to Texas, in what is now Lamar County. Inglish subsequently died on February 17, 1836. In 1841, his heirs brought a lawsuit for a league and a labor of land from the Republic. A jury found for the heirs and the Republic appealed. [1]
Judge William E. Jones determined that there were two questions to answer. First, did Inglish qualify for land under Republic law or constitution. Second, if not, did he qualify under Mexican law. [2]
Jones first noted that Inglish died prior to the Texas Declaration of Independence. Since Texas was not an independent nation at the time of his death, he could not obtain title to land or a grant of land on that basis. [3] By the same token, the laws of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas prohibited any new colonization and concurrent grant of land after May 2, 1835. [4] Jones noted that Inglish entered after the Mexican law cut off new property grants and died before Texas could grant land. He further noted that this was not for the courts to remedy, but was up to the legislative branch. [5]
The Republic of Texas, or simply Texas, was a breakaway state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. It shared borders with Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, and the United States of America.
The Texas Revolution was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos against the centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Although the uprising was part of a larger one, the Mexican Federalist War, that included other provinces opposed to the regime of President Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government believed the United States had instigated the Texas insurrection with the goal of annexation. The Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag". Only the province of Texas succeeded in breaking with Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas. It was eventually annexed by the United States.
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The Texas Navy, officially the Navy of the Republic of Texas, also known as the Second Texas Navy, was the naval warfare branch of the Texas Military Forces during the Republic of Texas. It descended from the Texian Navy, which was established in November 1835 to fight for independence from Centralist Republic of Mexico in the Texas Revolution. The Texas Navy, Texas Army, and Texas Militia were officially established on September 5, 1836 in Article II of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. The Texas Navy and Texas Army were merged with the United States Armed Forces on February 19, 1846 after the Republic of Texas became the 28th state of the United States.
Bryan v. Kennett, 113 U.S. 179 (1885), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that, under the treaty providing for the Louisiana Purchase, the United States would recognize property interests granted by the previous sovereign governments prior to the Purchase, even if the grant had been inchoate or incomplete.
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The Supreme Court of the United States, under Chief Justice Roger B. Taney (1836–1864), issued several important decisions on the status of aboriginal title in the United States, building on the opinions of aboriginal title in the Marshall Court.
The Centralist Republic of Mexico, or in the anglophone scholarship, the Central Republic, officially the Mexican Republic, was a unitary political regime established in Mexico on 23 October 1835, under a new constitution known as the Siete Leyes after conservatives repealed the federalist Constitution of 1824 and ended the First Mexican Republic. It would ultimately last until 1846, when the Constitution of 1824 was restored at the beginning of the Mexican-American War.
Herbert v. Moore, Dallam 592 (1844), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas which held that property taken by Indians in a raid were not subject to the rule of postliminy and were still the property of the original owner.
Binge v. Smith, Dallam 616 (1844), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas which held that where one party to a joint contract dies, the survivor may be sued; that the drawer and indorser of a promissory note may and should be joined in the same action if both be sued simultaneously; and that where separate actions were brought at different terms in the same court, plaintiff might be required to consolidate unless manifest injustice would thereby be done.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas was the court of last resort for legal matters in the Republic of Texas from the Republic's independence from Mexico in 1836 until its annexation by the United States of America in 1846. The current Supreme Court of Texas was established that year.
Dangerfield v. Secretary of State, Dallam 592 (1844), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas which held that the President does not have the authority to appoint the county court chief justice, the Texas Congress established the process to fill the office by Congressional election. The Court issued a writ of mandamus to settle the dispute.
The Texas Army, officially the Army of the Republic of Texas, was the land warfare branch of the Texas Military Forces during the Republic of Texas. It descended from the Texian Army, which was established in October 1835 to fight for independence from Centralist Republic of Mexico in the Texas Revolution. The Texas Army was provisionally formed by the Consultation in November 1835; however, it did not replace the Texian Army until after the Battle of San Jacinto. The Texas Army, Texas Navy, and Texas Militia were officially established on September 5, 1836, in Article II of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. The Texas Army and Texas Navy were merged with the United States Armed Forces on February 19, 1846, after the Republic of Texas became the 28th state of America.