The Cornelius was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1865. The case involved an African American man, John Cornelius, who had been convicted of larceny and sentenced to death. His lawyer argued that he should not be held accountable for his actions because he was a slave at the time of the crime and therefore could not be held criminally liable under state law. The court ultimately ruled in favor of Cornelius, holding that slaves were not subject to criminal prosecution as they did not have any legal rights or privileges under state laws. This ruling established an important precedent which has since been used to protect individuals from being unjustly prosecuted due to their lack of legal status or privilege within society.

In the case of The Cornelius, a majority opinion was reached that held that slaves who had been emancipated by their owners before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment were not entitled to compensation for their labor. However, in his dissenting opinion Justice Field argued that this decision disregarded both natural justice and legal precedent. He noted that under English common law any person whose labor had been taken without just compensation could sue for damages and he believed this should be true even if they were formerly enslaved persons. Furthermore, Field pointed out there was no evidence presented to suggest Congress intended to deny former slaves such rights when it passed the Thirteenth Amendment or other legislation related thereto. In conclusion, he felt strongly that denying these individuals recompense for their past labors violated basic principles of fairness and equity which should have been respected by all members of the court regardless of how they ultimately voted on this matter.