Susanna Frances Tasker v. Richard Mercer

Defender Richard Mercer contracted a substantial debt to pursuer Susanna Frances Tasker while both resided in Ireland. Mercer subsequently went to Scotland. Upon learning of this, Tasker’s attorney in Scotland petitioned the Magistrates of Edinburgh to imprison Mercer until he made bail, on the ground that he was “in meditatione fugae”—i.e., contemplating flight from the country. Mercer responded that he had gone to Edinburgh to seek medical treatment for his daughter and had no intention of fleeing the country. Case documents include depositions of individuals who witnessed events relevant to the case.