This case concluded another begun in South Carolina. In 1816, Dr. Alexander Spotswood Moore sued Dr. Joseph Paxton for slander in Sumter District. Allegedly, Paxton had stated that Dr. Moore would not practice among poor people in the country. Moore sued for $5,000.

The summons to Paxton was ordered by Judge John Faucherand Grimke, slaveowner and father of noted abolitionists Sarah and Angelina Grimke. John Horan, the court clerk, issued the summons. Sheriff H. Macon delegated it to his deputy, Anderson Sexton, to serve.

James G. Spann represented Dr. Moore. John Waties was counsel for Joseph Paxton, who asked for a jury trial. Trial was held the same day that Paxton responded to Moore's declaration. The jury consisted of Charles F. Gordon, foreman, Edward Stuckey, Thomas Wills, Levi Timmons, Chozel Weeks, George Truluck, Joseph Herrington, Benjamin A. Welding, Samuel Nelson, John Monk, Henry Richbourg, and John Cates. Interestingly, the document states that the jurors were "drawn by ballot according to the direction of the said acts of the General Assembly." The jury found Paxton guilty but reduced the amount of damages to $1,000 plus costs.

Paxton may have submitted additional pleadings after the trial–it is not clear from the record. W. L. Brunson noted that judgment was entered and signed in 1818. Clerk of Court Robert Bradford and Judge Elihu Bay certified the record.

Apparently Paxton never paid. During 1824 and 1825 he was in Arkansas surveying a route for the Memphis to Little Rock Road (the Military Road). In 1825, Sam Roane, acting as counsel for Dr. Moore, filed a declaration in Superior Court alleging that Paxton had never paid any of the judgment. Clerk David McKinney issued a capias writ which Sheriff Henry Armstrong served on Paxton, arresting him until Paxton made bond on Sept. 22. Henry W. Conway, Arkansas's Territorial Delegate to Congress, was the security on the bond.

Paxton's defense team consisted of some of the most prominent attorneys in the territory: Territorial Secretary Robert Crittenden (who later killed Henry W. Conway), Chester Ashley and Ambrose Sevier (who would both later serve as senators from Arkansas), and Robert Oden. In defense, they pleaded that more than five years had passed since Moore was awarded the judgment and he thus was barred from bringing suit. Moore in turn demurred to this argument of Paxton, contending that under the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution Arkansas had to recognize his South Carolina judgment, and since the law of South Carolina (lex loci) controlled as to the statute of limitation, he could sue and recover in Arkansas.

The Superior Court issued an opinion in October of 1827. In its opinion, the court, Justices Benjamin Johnson and William Trimble presiding, noted the importance of the decision–doubtless debt was one motivating factor for many immigrants who moved to Arkansas–and praised counsel for their arguments, stating that this "has been ably argued at the bar." The court also explained that its issuance of the decision had been delayed because the court did not at first have access to the "authorities refered to in the argument." In its opinion, the court upheld Moore's right to sue since Paxton was fully aware of the judgment and had participated in the South Carolina trial.

What was the authority that the court lacked? In its opinion, the court cites Geyer's Digest of the Laws of the Territory of Missouri; and two United States Supreme Court decisions, one published in volume 7 of Cranch and the other in volume 3 of Wheaton. Most likely it was one or both of these latter two sources that the court was missing, underscoring the remoteness of Little Rock.

However, Moore was ultimately not successful. The record book states that Paxton also pleaded "nul tiel record," that is, he denied the existence of any record on which Moore's action of debt was allegedly founded. Moore did produce a record of the judgment; however, apparently the court compared it with Moore's pleading and ruled that they did not correspond. The court awarded costs to Paxton. Moore then moved to reconsider. On April 28, 1828 the case was re-argued before the court, but the next day the court overruled the motion. Ultimately Paxton won, and Moore failed to recover on his South Carolina judgment.

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