Augustus Sherrill Seymour
How Judge Seymour rules, drawn from 5 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Seymour no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Seymour decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In the license-tax challenge, Seymour treated discrimination against interstate goods or sellers as the constitutional dividing line, while upholding a tax he found evenhanded.
“the test of constitutionality is the absence or existence of discrimination.”
Procedural preferences
In Cross, Seymour emphasized that a jurisdictional objection had to be raised at the proper time rather than saved for collateral review.
“they lost it by failing to interpose in apt time a plea to the jurisdiction of the case”
Cautions
In the Nydia collision, Seymour declined to impose liability through hindsight where an unlit anchored vessel created an emergency and clear evidence of avoidability was lacking.
“A light he would instantly have seen and avoided.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The motion for a new trial is denied.”
“The motion for a writ of habeas corpus, and also the motion for an order to show cause, denied.”
“judgment must be rendered dismissing the libel of the Meteor, with costs.”
“The libel of the owner of the Nydia is dismissed, with costs.”
“The owners of the J. R. P. Moore are entitled to §100, and costs.”
“The petition, showing upon its face that applicant is not entitled to a writ of habeas corpus, has been denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
No electronic case records were available from which to describe a docket sample.
A historical record
Judge Seymour no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.