In James Adams, Executor of Thomas Law, Deceased and Henry May, Administrator of Edmund and Thomas Law v. Joseph E. Law by his Next Friend Mary Robinson the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a will that had been partially destroyed could be admitted into probate court as valid evidence in order to determine the rightful heirs of an estate. The appellants argued that since only part of the document remained it should not be considered valid evidence while the respondent argued that there was sufficient proof from witnesses who had seen or heard about its contents before it was destroyed which would allow for its admission into probate court. Ultimately, after considering all arguments presented by both sides, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of admitting what remained of the will into probate court as valid evidence so long as there were enough witnesses present who could testify to its contents prior to being destroyed.

In the case of James Adams, Executor of Thomas Law, Deceased and Henry May, Administrator of Edmund and Thomas Law v. Joseph E. Law by his next friend Mary Robinson, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed executed in 1837 between two parties should be considered valid or void due to an alleged lack of consideration for one party's interest in certain real estate property. The majority opinion held that since there was no evidence presented that either party had received any benefit from the transaction at issue then it must be deemed invalid as a matter of law. However, Justice McLean dissented on this point arguing that even if there were no tangible benefits exchanged between the parties involved it did not necessarily mean that they lacked consideration for their respective interests in the property at hand; instead he argued that courts should consider all relevant circumstances when determining whether or not a contract is valid including those which may have been overlooked by other judges such as moral obligations or promises made prior to entering into said agreement.