Sherman’s Pig Case divides the General Court.

[6/14] The case involves a sow owned by Mrs. Richard “Goody” Sherman that wandered onto the property of Capt. Robert Keayne in 1636. After Keayne slaughtered a pig that he claimed was one of his own, Sherman claims it was her pig and sues Keayne for damages. A majority of the Deputies sides with the plaintiff, but a majority of the Magistrates sides with the defendant, with the result that the suit is dismissed because of a 1636 law that no law, order, or sentence may pass without the consent of the majority of both bodies and contributes to the General Court being split into two chambers in 1644.*