Chaplin v. Kirwan

Decided September 15, 1786

Supreme Court of the United States · decided 1786-09-15

THE Referrees in this case, had allowed ex parte evidence to be given, of the current price of Coach-maker’s work, at the time when the cause of action accrued. For this reason, the Defendant moved to set aside their report.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1786-09-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently June 1981

2 state decisions

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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¶1And

by the Court:

¶2If Referrees make enquiry abroad, to ascertain for their own satisfaction, the price of work, or the truth of any other matter, which may be said, comparitively, to be of a public nature, this, so far from being irregular, would be highly commendable. But it is a very different case, when they proceed separately to examine a witness, who has been produced by one of the parties, although the evidence relates only to those general points. The adverse parties should have an opportunity of cross examining the witness.

¶3The Report set aside.