Kentucky v. Dennison
Significance, Who Decides?, A Slave Girl And The Man Who Helped Her, On The Eve Of The Civil War
Petitioner
State of Kentucky
Respondent
William Dennison, Governor of Ohio
Petitioner's Claim
That Governor Dennison should return to Kentucky the man, Willis Lago, who had allegedly helped a slave to escape and who had been indicted in Kentucky for what was a crime under the laws of that state.
Chief Lawyers for Petitioner
John W. Stevenson, Humphrey Marshall
Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Ohio Attorney General Christopher P. Wolcott
Justices for the Court
John Archibald Campbell, John Catron, Nathan Clifford, Robert Cooper Grier, John McLean, Samuel Nelson, Roger Brooke Taney (writing for the Court), James Moore Wayne
Justices Dissenting
None
Place
Washington, D.C.
Date of Decision
14 March 1861
Decision
That although it was in fact Governor Dennison's duty to return a fugitive from justice to another state, as the executive authority of a state, he could not be coerced into doing so.
Related Cases
- Prigg v. Pennsylvania, 41 U.S. 539 (1842).
- Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857).
- Puerto Rico v. Branstad, 483 U.S. 219 (1987).
Additional topics
- Kilbourn v. Thompson - Significance, An Uncooperative Witness, Preserving The Separation Of Powers, Congressional Immunity, Samuel R. Lowery, African American Lawyer
- Kendall v. United States - Significance, A Carriage And A Pair Of Horses, The President Fails To Intervene, The Separation Of Powers
- Kentucky v. Dennison - Further Readings
- Kentucky v. Dennison - Significance
- Kentucky v. Dennison - Who Decides?
- Kentucky v. Dennison - A Slave Girl And The Man Who Helped Her
- Kentucky v. Dennison - On The Eve Of The Civil War
- Other Free Encyclopedias
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