Extradition case of John Anderson

The majority of the presiding judges who handled the case agreed that there was sufficient evidence to prove criminality of the extraditable offence.

[8] A slave catcher from Detroit named James H. Gunning investigated Anderson's case and eventually got a warrant around April or May 1860.

The central issue in Anderson's extradition case was whether his stabbing of Digges was a crime or simply an incident of his escape from slavery.

[9] Some have argued that the Anderson case, aside from igniting a media, legal, and political frenzy, had a profound impact on Canada’s future relationship with Britain.

[10][11][12] It also set an important precedent for Canadian leaders to make the superior courts handle the most political divisive decisions, which had originally been reserved for the executive branch of government.

[14] A notable event occurred while Anderson was awaiting an appeal of the Canadian court's initial decision, which stipulated that he should indeed be extradited.