Robert Paine Dick

How Judge Dick rules, drawn from 7 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Judge Dick no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

Court
United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
Position
district
Status
Deceased
Served
1872–1898
Appointed by
Ulysses S. Grant (Republican)
Commissioned
1872-06-07
Education
University of North Carolina (1843); Read law (1845)
Signed orders read
7

How Judge Dick decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

In Worley, Dick treated the court's authority over its execution process as sufficient to direct correction of the return and completion of the purchaser's title.

“the process may be regarded as still in his hands unexecuted, and he may be directed by this court to amend his return”

Procedural preferences

In Kilpatrick, Dick quashed an indictment where an outside examiner's grand-jury participation departed from the legal safeguards governing criminal accusation.

“Courts cannot administer justice unless they enforce the well-settled principles and observe the due forms of law.”

Cautions

In Two Bay Mules, Dick regarded statutory forfeiture as mandatory even when the property owner did not participate in the wrongdoing.

“in civil proceedings to enforce forfeitures imposed by positive statutes they cannot, on account of the peculiar hardship or apparent injustice of the case, exercise a discretion in the matter by mitigating the severe penalties of the law.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Mendenhall v. Carter
· 1872-07-01
Involuntary bankruptcy petition (petitioning creditor) Denied

“It is ordered that the petition be dismissed.”

In re Jordan
· 1873-06-15
Exceptions to assignee report (objecting creditors) Denied

“The exceptions to the report of the assignee are disallowed, and said report is in all things confirmed.”

United States v. Ebbs
· 1881-11-15
Exceptions to taxed costs (criminal defendant) Granted in part

“It is ordered that the clerk of this court retax the costs in this case in conformity with this opinion.”

United States v. Kilpatrick
· 1883-05-15
Motion to quash indictment (criminal defendant) Granted

“After hearing evidence and full arguments I decided that the bill should be quashed”

Ex parte Worley
· 1884-07-01
Petition to amend execution return and issue deed (purchaser at execution sale) Granted

“The petitioner is clearly entitled to the prima facie evidence of the location of said lands, which will be afforded bj’ the return of the officer who made the sale.”

United States v. Ford
· 1888-02-15
Motion in arrest of judgment (criminal defendant) Granted

“as the averments in the indictment are not made with the certainty required by well-settled rules of law the judgment must be arrested.”

United States v. Two Bay Mules
· 1888-06-15
Request for forfeiture (United States) Granted

“Let a decree of condemnation be drawn in conformity with this opinion.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

No exact-name historical dockets were available, so caseload mix and case-duration analysis could not be computed.

A historical record

Judge Dick 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.