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Article: Appeals from Colonial Courts
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
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APPEALS FROM COLONIAL COURTS
APPEALS FROM COLONIAL COURTS.
Starting in the late seventeenth century, new proprietary and royal colonial charters reserved for the British king-in-council the right to hear certain cases on appeal from provincial courts. Through this appellate procedure the British Privy Council sought to bring the American colonial legal systems into conformity with England's, particularly in such matters as the rules of evidence and the jury system. Pending appeals, executions of the colonial courts were suspended. Such appeals were both costly and protracted.
Major issues of colonial policy
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such as Indian relations, currency law, and intestate succession
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