8 - Murder or Manslaughter?

Summary

Tucker sent Crane’s case to the General Court; there John Crane’s family retained John Marshall. In 1791, Marshall was a leading member of Virginia’s Bar, and had experience with the state’s frequent special verdicts. Special verdicts were increasingly taking on new uses in post-Revolutionary Virginia. They allowed parties, juries, and judges to isolate issues of law for decision by the court – especially important in this era, where so much of Virginia’s law was in doubt because of the transition from colony to independent state. Did British laws apply? Special verdicts frequently isolated such issues, and addressed technical flaws in indictments and specialized legal questions. Also, parties and counsel often distrusted the abilities of Virginia’s juries and preferred that judges decide their cases. These verdicts gave judges greater power, which America’s revolutionaries had dreaded, but also helped to create legal uniformity, something they desired. Crane’s own verdict highlighted the definitions of murder and manslaughter. Eventually, with two judges dissenting, the General Court decided that Crane was guilty of murder.