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Partly-printed DS, signed twice, “John Adams,” one page both sides, 8.25 x 12.75, August 13, 1773. Legal writ issued by King George III to the sheriff of Suffolk County, summoning Briggs Hallowell to the Court of Common Pleas at Boston to answer to a plea of debt in the amount of £3,000 by William Reeve of Bristol. On the reverse, Adams writes: "and the said Briggs, Benja. and Robert, come and defend and reserving Liberty of pleading anew at the Supreme Court, say they never promised. John Adams." Additional docketing, in another hand, beneath this statement claims that the Hallowell's claim is "bad & insufficient in law," and that "the sd Briggs, Benja. & Robert say their plea is good." Adams certifies the statement below, signing again, "John Adams." In fine condition, with light toning along the intersecting folds.
At this time, Adams was one of Boston's leading attorneys. In 1768, he had undertaken the defense of prominent merchant John Hancock, who was charged with smuggling wine. The highly publicized trial in British admiralty court dragged on for nearly five months, when the proceedings against Hancock were dropped without explanation.
While that case aided greatly in the advancement of Adams’s legal career, it paled in contrast to his controversial defense of the British soldiers who perpetrated the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. Though he feared it would hurt his reputation, Adams believed that all men were entitled to a fair trial and deserved equal justice. His success in the trials—Adams secured the acquittal of Captain Thomas Preston and six British soldiers, with the remaining two convicted only of manslaughter rather than murder—elevated his reputation even further. Adams's notoriety made his law practice prosperous, earning him perhaps the largest caseload of any attorney in Boston.
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