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5 - Indictment

Power Shifts and Power Continuities in Virginia’s Courts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2019

Jessica K. Lowe
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
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Summary

St. George Tucker convened a grand jury in John Crane’s case on September 1, 1791 – the opening day of the fall session of the Winchester District Court. The men on Crane’s grand jury came from a variety of backgrounds, but all exercised substantial power in post-Revolutionary Virginia. Some had been Revolutionary heroes, others came from patrician Virginia roots. They had served in a variety of capacities in courts and government, including serving as sheriffs and justices of the peace. Although Virginia’s new court reforms had created state district courts and had, in some ways, reduced the importance of the county courts, in the Valley these courts had put power back in the hands of the types of wealthy, powerful men who had wielded it during the colonial period. Current county justices and sheriffs also frequently participated in district court activities, demonstrating that county and state power densely overlapped. After deliberation, the grand jury indicted John Crane, and also – surprisingly – identified him as a “yeoman,” despite his elite background, demonstrating the fluidity and complexity of class in post-Revolutionary Virginia.
Type
Chapter
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Murder in the Shenandoah
Making Law Sovereign in Revolutionary Virginia
, pp. 89 - 105
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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  • Indictment
  • Jessica K. Lowe, University of Virginia
  • Book: Murder in the Shenandoah
  • Online publication: 01 February 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108377812.006
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  • Indictment
  • Jessica K. Lowe, University of Virginia
  • Book: Murder in the Shenandoah
  • Online publication: 01 February 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108377812.006
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Indictment
  • Jessica K. Lowe, University of Virginia
  • Book: Murder in the Shenandoah
  • Online publication: 01 February 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108377812.006
Available formats
×