[9] The Roberts' Doctrine implied that the Supreme Court of the United States could follow a decision that was bad law in certain circumstances.
The collision was caused by the negligence of those in charge of both ships, and the action was brought by the personal representatives of Armstrong against the owner of The Bernina to recover damages for his death.
But it was held by the House of Lords that the case of Thorogood v Bryan was wrongly decided, and the principle of it was overruled.
secondly, the propounding of a proposition to be law which is not so, embracing all that wide field of misdecision commonly called bad law, and comprehending the numerous class of cases where the question turns upon the rules of construction to be applied to charters, grants, and contracts, &c. .
After the Court of Queen's Bench had laid it down, in a case to which I shall refer presently, that a man on horseback might be impounded with his beast if taken damage feasant; the owner of a field, who seized a trespasser under these circumstances after this decision, offended as much against the law, and was equally responsible for the assault as if his right so to do had never been erroneously affirmed.
After the decision of Godsall v. Boldero, 9 East 72, policies of life assurance were not contracts of indemnity, notwithstanding it had been erroneously decided in that case that they were.
Sir James Mansfield, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, according to Taunton, observed: 'Whoever reads Campbell's Reports and considers the many new and difficult questions which came before Lord Ellenborough, must be surprised to find how uniformly right he is in his decisions.'
Before each number was sent to the press I carefully revised all the cases I had collected for it, and rejected such as were inconsistent with former decisions or recognised principles.
The threat to publish this I might have used as a weapon of offence when he was rude to me; but his reputation is now secure, for the whole collection was reduced to ashes in the great fire in the Temple.