<P> Within three weeks, the writs were challenged by a group of 63 Boston merchants represented by fiery Boston attorney James Otis, Jr . A countersuit was filed by a British customs agent Paxton, and together these are known as "Paxton's case". Otis argued the famous writs of assistance case at the Old State House in Boston in February 1761 and again on 16 November 1761 . Although Otis technically lost, his challenge to the authority of Parliament made a strong impression on John Adams, who was present, and thereby eventually contributed to the American Revolution . In a pamphlet published three years later, in 1765, Otis expanded his argument that the general writs violated the British unwritten constitution hearkening back to Magna Carta . Any law in violation of the constitution or "natural law" which underlay it, was void . </P> <P> A writ of assistance was used in an incident known as the "Malcom Affair", which was described by legal scholar William Cuddihy as "the most famous search in colonial America ." The episode demonstrated a fundamental difference between the colonists' view of their rights and the official British view of imperial law . "The Malcom affair was a minor matter, a comedy of blundering revenue officers and barricaded colonials," wrote legal historian John Phillip Reid, "but were we to dismiss it in haste we might run the risk of dismissing much of the story of the American Revolution ." </P> <P> On 24 September 1766, customs officials in Boston, with a deputy sheriff, searched merchant Daniel Malcom's home, which was also his place of business . They claimed the authority to do so by a writ of assistance issued to customs official Benjamin Hallowell, and the information of a confidential informant . Malcom allowed them to search, but denied them access to a locked cellar, arguing that they did not have the legal authority to break it open . According to customs officials, Malcom threatened to use force to prevent them from opening the door; according to Malcom and his supporters, his threat specified resisting any unlawful forced entry . </P> <P> The officials left and returned with a specific search warrant, only to find that Malcom had locked his house . A crowd supportive of Malcom had gathered around the house; Tories claimed that this "mob" numbered 300 or more people and was hostile to the customs officers, while Whigs insisted that this was a peaceful gathering of about 50 curious onlookers, mostly boys . No violence occurred, but reports written by Governor Francis Bernard and the customs officials created the impression in Britain that a riot had taken place . The incident furthered Boston's reputation in Britain as a lawless town controlled by "mobs", a reputation that would contribute to the government's decision to send troops in 1768 . </P>

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