Abram Sheppard and John Duncan were plaintiffs in error against Peyton S. Graves, a man who had been awarded damages from them for the wrongful death of his slave. The Supreme Court heard this case to determine whether or not the award was proper under state law. In their decision, they found that slaves are considered property by state laws and therefore any damage done to them is subject to compensation as if it were an injury done to any other piece of property owned by a person. Furthermore, they held that even though slavery has since been abolished in some states, those states still recognize its legality at the time when it occurred and thus must abide by previous rulings regarding such cases involving slaves as property. Ultimately, this ruling established precedent for future cases involving similar circumstances where damages would be awarded due to harm caused on another's personal property regardless of what type of item it may have been at the time

In the case of Abram Sheppard and John Duncan v. Peyton S. Graves, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed from an emancipated slave was valid under Virginia law. The majority opinion held that it was not, as slaves were considered property in Virginia at the time and could not legally own property or enter into contracts without their master's permission. However, Justice McLean dissented on this point, arguing that since slavery had been abolished in Virginia by then-current legislation, any contract entered into between two parties should be recognized as valid regardless of race or status. He further argued that if such contracts were invalidated solely based on racial grounds then it would violate both state and federal constitutional guarantees of equal protection before the law for all citizens regardless of race or status.