Book Description

Benedict, Erastus C. The American Admiralty: Its Jurisdiction and Practice with Practical Forms and Directions. New York: Banks, Gould & Co., 1850. xiii, 651 pp. Reprinted 2010 by the Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 9781616190194. Paperback. New. $35. * Reprint of the first edition. At the time of its publication there were other popular treatises on the subject in use by American lawyers, but the particularly American viewpoint and practicality of Benedict's treatise enabled it to surpass the others. Now in its seventh edition, it is still the premier work on the subject. In addition to covering American maritime law and practice in the courts, Benedict includes comprehensive discussions of trial by jury, the ancient jurisdiction of the English admiralty, the strife between the Common Law Courts and the Admiralty in the 16th and 17th centuries, the English admiralty at the time of the American Revolution; and the admiralty jurisdiction of the state courts of admiralty, the British colonies, Scotland and Ireland, France and other portions of Continental Europe. An appendix contains rules for the United States Supreme Court, the United States District and Circuit Courts and fee schedules, statutes and forms. Benedict [1800-1880], a noted lawyer and educator, was considered "one of the foremost admiralty lawyers of his day." Dictionary of American Biography I: 177.