7 March 1807

Judicial Justice

Letter V

I. Shapes

I. First as to the shapes in which injustice, considered as resulting from the conduct of a Judge, is liable to manifest itself. These may be considered as corresponding to the several ends of justice, so often spoken of. So many of those ends, so many primary dictates of justice. On the part of any Judge or Court of Justice an act of injustice will be an act operating or tending to operate in repugnancy to some one or other or every one of those ends.

1. Direct or positive end of justice - effect given to the arrangements made by the substantive branch by the law: support and effect given to the rights created and conferred by it: enforcement given to the obligations imposed by it, in correspondence with those rights: fulfilment given to the predictions delivered by it, and engagements taken by it, in correspondence with those rights and obligations.

Modifications of judicial injustice or judiciature corresponding to this direct end of justice - 1. Misdecision; to the prejudice of the Plaintiff's side: 2. Denial of justice. The relation in the way of coincidence and distinction between these objects will be presently brought to view.

2. Collateral ultimate or negative end of justice - avoiding to give birth to that sort of vexation which takes place, where in the endeavour real or pretended, to give fulfilment to some article of substantive law in favour of the plaintiff, by giving effect to some right demanded by him as his due, but really not his due, the correspondent obligation is imposed upon his adversary the defendant.

Modification of injustice in judicature corresponding to this collateral ultimate end of justice, misdecision to the prejudice of the Defendant's side.

3. Collateral incidental end or ends of justice - (likewise of the negative cast) avoiding to give birth to superabundant collateral inconvenience in its several distinguishable but intimately connected shapes - delay, vexation and expence.

Modification or modifications of injustice in judicature, corresponding to this collateral incidental end of justice, production of superabundant delay, vexation or expence.