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Donald Paine Collection Regarding Tennessee v. Major

 Collection
Identifier: MS-3443

  • Staff Only

This collection houses articles, correspondence, notes, trial transcripts, and opinions (obtained via Westlaw) documenting Don Paine's research into the case of Tennessee v. Major. The transcripts show the first (1853-1854) and fourth (1857) trials.

Dates

  • 1853-1857, 2009

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (1 quarter box)

Abstract

This collection houses articles, correspondence, notes, trial transcripts, and opinions (obtained via Westlaw) documenting Don Paine's research into the case of Tennessee v. Major. The transcripts show the first (1853-1854) and fourth (1857) trials.

Biographical/Historical Note

In 1853, an enslaved man named Major was accused of the attempted rape of Mirah Looper, the teenage daughter of the family on whose farm Major lived. Major was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death four times between 1853 and 1857, but, due to challenges to the testimonies of Mirah and her family, the verdict was reversed three times and a new trial was granted once.

Donald Franklin Paine was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1939. He earned his B.A. (1961), M.A. (1963), and LL.B. (1963) from the University of Tennessee. Immediately after graduation, Paine served in the Army as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He was discharged in 1966 and returned to Tennessee, where he authored the Tennessee Law of Evidence (1974). Paine practiced law with Paine, Tarwater, and Bickers in addition to researching Tennessee's legal history. He was a Reporter to the Supreme Court Advisory Commission on Rules of Practice and Procedure, wrote a monthly column for the Tennessee Bar Journal, and lectured for the Tennessee Law Institute, the University of Tennessee College of Law, and the Tennessee Judicial Conference. Paine also served as President of the Knoxville Bar Association (1983) and of the Tennessee Bar Association (1986-1987). Paine died November 18, 2013.

Arrangement

This collection consists of four folders in a single box.

Acquisition Note

Donald Paine donated these materials to Special Collections.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480