Dissenting Yourself
Thrice Redfield dissented from his own
majority opinion. In Barron v. Pettes (1846),
his turn came to write a majority decision.
He supported the decision, but when the
plaintiff asked to have the damage award
include 15% interest, he explained his fear
that future courts would take it seriously;
even though he had signed the decision, he
dissented.
I expressed myself, at the time, averse
to the allowance of any such rate of
interest upon judgments of the county court, where execution had been
stayed by order of that court. But the
other members of the court, although
hesitating at first, finally made an order,
that the clerk should cast interest at the
rate of fifteen per cent. on so much of
the judgment below, as was for money detained, and at the rate of six per
cent. upon the residue of the judgment. Accordingly a formal order was
made to that effect, which, for conformity, I consented to sign, and which, I
suppose, may be esteemed a decision
of this court; but, being made without
argument, and without consultation,
so far as I know, I cannot but regret,
that it was ever made, and trust that it
will not be followed as a precedent. It
appears to me, that the statute settles
this matter, by providing that “interest
shall be added to the judgment of the
county court” in general terms; the law
fixes the rate at six per cent.; and the
effect is the sa YK\