A cash-strapped Reverend James Maury of Fredericksville, Virginia saw that one of his colleagues had sued and been awarded his regular pay in damages. Encouraged by his colleague's success and being forced to live on a third of what he was entitled to receive, Maury filed suit in a courthouse in Hanover. He chose Peter Lyons, a charming, Irish-born attorney, as his lawyer.
The case took a year and a half to get to trial, but it went very well for Reverend Maury when it was tried. The court ruled that the vestry acted illegally in withholding roughly two-thirds of Maury's pay in value, and ordered a hearing to assess the damages.
Thomas Johnson, the deputy sheriff responsible for collecting the parson's salary, was now faced with an enormous fine. It wasn't official yet, but it would be soon. The hearing was only 3 weeks away, and it looked to be an open-and-shut case. The court had sided with Maury, and it was simple math to determine what the parson was due. Johnson, however, was not in a position to pay. His situation was grim.
Desperate for legal assistance on short notice, Johnson turned to Patrick Henry. Henry was young, had less than 3 years of experience under his belt, and was still not respected by the upper class of Virginia's society. He did, however, have one appealing aspect. His father was the presiding judge in the case.
This attractive fact, however, would not guarantee a favorable decision by the jury. And Judge Henry did not have a reputation for anything less than a firm commitment to fairness and integrity. The situation was still pretty grim.
When the day came for trial, that grim situation began to improve. Judge Henry sent the sheriff out to round up the jurors, and the candidates he returned with did not please Reverend Maury, who characterized them as a "vulgar herd." Henry quickly maneuvered to have them sworn in, achieving a very important victory just as the hearing got underway.
Unhappy with the jury selection, Maury could still take comfort in the simple arithmetic and logic his case offered the court. And he had a polished and well-respected attorney as his advocate.
Lyons opened the case with relish and ease, summarizing the verdict from the previous month's trial and explaining that it remained only for the jurors to do the math and award the damages. For the jury, it was a a simple task. A quick exercise in justice and fairness, and then they could return to their business.
