Queen v. Hepburn
United States Supreme Court
11 U.S. (7 Cranch) 290 (1813)
- Written by Brianna Pine, JD
Facts
Mina Queen (plaintiff), an enslaved woman in the District of Columbia, filed suit seeking freedom for herself and her daughter, Louisa (plaintiff). Mina asserted that her great-grandmother, Mary Queen, had come to the American colonies as a free woman and that this status passed to Mina and her descendants. To support this claim, Mina offered testimony from witnesses who stated that they had either spoken directly with Mary about her background or heard others discuss her status as a free woman. The trial court excluded from evidence the portions of testimony recounting statements Mary had made to others or information the witnesses had learned secondhand, ruling that such evidence constituted inadmissible hearsay. After the exclusion of this evidence, the jury returned a verdict against Mina and Louisa. Mina appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in excluding the hearsay testimony.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Marshall, C.J.)
Dissent (Duvall, J.)
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