In 1817,
Governor Gabriel Slaughter appointed Mills to the
circuit court of
Montgomery County. concerning the status of
slaves born in the
Northwest Territory where the
Ordinance of 1787 outlawed slavery. In his opinion, Mills was careful to avoid judgments regarding the institution of slavery itself, but upheld the decision of the
Shelby County circuit court that the slave (Lydia) ought to be freed under terms of an
indenture she had agreed to in
Indiana before being sold to a master in Kentucky. and
Blair v. Williams. In both cases, the circuit courts had ruled the replevin law impaired the obligation of contracts in violation of the
Contract Clause of the
United States Constitution and similar language in the
Kentucky Constitution. In October 1823, Mills and fellow justices
John Boyle and
William Owsley upheld the lower courts' rulings. An outraged General Assembly passed a measure abolishing the Court of Appeals and setting up a new Court of Appeals in its place, which pro-relief governor
John Adair stocked with judges favorable to the debt relief cause. The Old Court considered the action illegal, and for a time, both the Old and New Courts claimed authority as the
court of last resort in Kentucky. As the state's economy began to recover, Old Court supporters made steady gains in the legislature. By late 1826, they commanded a
veto-proof majority in the General Assembly and passed legislation abolishing the New Court and reinstating the Old Court. In 1828, Boyle resigned his seat on the Court of Appeals to accept a federal judgeship. In an attempt to placate the remaining New Court supporters that insisted the Old Court judges did not represent the will of the people, Owsley and Mills also resigned, hoping to be reappointed and reconfirmed to their posts. Governor
Thomas Metcalfe reappointed both, but the
Kentucky Senate would not confirm them. Thus ended Mills' tenure on the Court of Appeals. Following his time on the bench, Mills moved to
Frankfort, where he resumed his legal practice. ==References==