Mima Queen & Louisa Queen v. John Hepburn (1813)
To the Honble the Judges of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia for Washington County
The petition of Minor or Mina Queen & Louisa her child of Washington County humbly sheweth that your petitioner & her said child are entitled to their freedom & are unjustly held in bondage by a certain John Hepburn of Washington County as slaves. Wherefore she prays your honors to grant her relief in the premisses & as she apprehends that she may be removed out of the Jurisdiction of this Court before the next term thereof, she prays that subpoena may issue to the said John Hepburn retble immediately.
FS Key for Petr
Read the full case on O Say Can You See: Early Washington, D.C., Law & Family
- Title
- Mima Queen & Louisa Queen v. John Hepburn (1813)
- Description
- This unsuccessful freedom suit reflects the legal challenges to slavery and hinged on the Supreme Court's decision that hearsay about family genealogy could not be used as evidence, setting later precedent. Mina (spelled Mima in the court record) Queen petitioned for her freedom and that of her daughter on the grounds that her great grandmother Mary Queen was a free woman of color. When the lower court disallowed critical testimony about Mary Queen's origins and status, Queen appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court on a writ of error, arguing that hearsay testimony should be allowed in a petition for freedom case. The Supreme Court denied the appeal, upholding the lower court's ruling.
- Excerpted
- Yes
- Date
- 1813
- Subject
- African Americans
- Procedural History
- U.S. Supreme Court; Circuit Court for the District of Columbia
- Document Type
- Court Case
- Document Category
- Primary Source
- Digital Repository
- O Say Can You See: Early Washington, D.C., Law & Family
- Title
- Mima Queen & Louisa Queen v. John Hepburn (1813)
- Description
- This unsuccessful freedom suit reflects the legal challenges to slavery and hinged on the Supreme Court's decision that hearsay about family genealogy could not be used as evidence, setting later precedent. Mina (spelled Mima in the court record) Queen petitioned for her freedom and that of her daughter on the grounds that her great grandmother Mary Queen was a free woman of color. When the lower court disallowed critical testimony about Mary Queen's origins and status, Queen appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court on a writ of error, arguing that hearsay testimony should be allowed in a petition for freedom case. The Supreme Court denied the appeal, upholding the lower court's ruling.
- Excerpted
- Yes
- Date
- 1813
- Subject
- African Americans
- Procedural History
- U.S. Supreme Court; Circuit Court for the District of Columbia
- Document Type
- Court Case
- Document Category
- Primary Source
- Digital Repository
- O Say Can You See: Early Washington, D.C., Law & Family