John P. Hampton

John Preston Hampton (died January 31, 1829)[1][2][3] was the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi[dubious – discuss] from 1818 until his death in 1829.

[7] He was noted for his opinion in the case of Frazer v. Davis,[8] where he held that the purchaser's failure to communicate to the seller a rumor of peace between the United States and Great Britain, calculated materially to affect the price of cotton (the commodity sold), vitiated the sale.

[5] The correctness of the decision is controverted by the reporter in a note, and the Supreme Court of the United States came to a contrary opinion in a case arising in neighboring Louisiana, Laidlaw v.

[9] Another noted decision the case of Stark's heirs vs. Mather,[10] addressing conflicting tenures arising under different grants, one of which was made by Spain and the other by the Government of the United States.

[7] As a judge, Hampton "was accused of trying to enforce a standard of pure morality too lofty for practical use in the ordinary affairs of life".