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Introduction to Joseph Smith’s Illinois Legal Cases

Introduction to Joseph Smith’s Illinois Legal Cases

Following JS’s mid-April 1839 escape from state custody, he joined the main body of the Latter-day Saints in . Between 1839 and 1844, JS was involved in approximately 130 legal cases in Illinois as a judge, plaintiff or complainant, defendant, witness, or interested third party. He heard 77 of these cases as judge of the , Illinois, mayor’s court and chief justice of the Nauvoo Municipal Court. The remaining cases dealt with various civil and criminal matters and were heard by and in the Illinois court system, as well as by the federal courts in the state.

Relevant Courts in Illinois

When was admitted to the Union as a state in 1818, it adopted a legal system with local justices of the peace, county-level circuit courts, and a state supreme court. Justices of the peace served as the base of the state’s tiered court system. Qualified voters elected multiple justices of the peace in each county to serve four-year terms.

These justices generally lacked formal legal training; however, they were respected members of their community. Illinois law authorized them to preside over trials for minor crimes committed within the county such as , but for most crimes they held preliminary examinations to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to send a case to trial before the county-level circuit court.

An Act to Amend the Act Relative to Criminal Jurisprudence, approved 30 Jan. 1827 [19 Jan. 1829], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 241–242, secs. 1–4; An Act to Extend the Jurisdiction of Justices of the Peace [29 Dec. 1826], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 414–415, sec. 1; An Act to Amend “An Act concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables,” approved, 13 Feb. 1827 [23 Jan. 1829], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 421–422, sec. 12; An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [6 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 237–238, secs. 1, 3.

Comprehensive Works Cited

The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.

Illinois law also granted justices authority to hear civil suits for unpaid debts not exceeding $100.

In addition, justices heard cases dealing with personal property for damages not exceeding $20.

Appeals of decisions rendered by justices of the peace were heard by the circuit court.

In 1841, the legislature divided the state into nine judicial circuits, each of which covered several counties. The legislature appointed one professional judge to preside over each circuit. The judge rotated through his circuit, holding court in each county twice a year. Circuit courts held trials for criminal offenses allegedly committed in the county. In addition, circuit courts were authorized to hear civil suits under common law and for debts over $20 and personal wrongs. Circuit judges were also permitted to issue writs of to review the legality of detentions. The nine circuit judges sat together as the Illinois Supreme Court, which sat twice annually in the state capital to hear appeals and was the court of final jurisdiction in the state.

In the 1830s, the legislature began incorporating cities and permitting these municipalities to operate city courts and exercise other powers. In 1840, the legislature passed an act, commonly known as the , that incorporated the city of . The act indicated that the mayor and the would serve as justices of the peace within the city’s limits, with the same jurisdiction over minor criminal and civil matters as regularly elected justices. The Nauvoo charter authorized the city council to pass that were deemed “necessary for the peace, benefit, good order, regulation, convenience, and cleanliness, of said city.” The charter specified that ordinances could not be “repugnant” to the constitution of the or of the state of Illinois. The mayor, along with the aldermen, operated courts that were tasked with prosecuting those accused of breaching the city ordinances.

The charter also created the Municipal Court, which was composed of the mayor as chief justice and the city aldermen as associate justices. The charter did not explicitly grant the municipal court original jurisdiction over alleged breaches of city ordinances. However, beginning in 1841 the Nauvoo City Council began passing ordinances that granted concurrent jurisdiction to the mayor and the municipal court. In addition, the charter gave the municipal court “power to grant writs of habeas corpus in all cases arising under the ordinances of the City Council.” In 1842, the Nauvoo City Council passed a series of ordinances that expanded the court’s habeas corpus jurisdiction to include alleged violations not only of city ordinances but also of and federal laws. These habeas corpus ordinances further granted the court power to make final determinations of guilt or innocence. The charter also authorized the municipal court to hear appeals “from any decision or judgment” rendered by the mayor’s or aldermen’s courts “arising under the city ordinances.”

The federal government also operated courts in . District courts functioned as the base of the federal judicial system. A single judge presided over the court, which had jurisdiction over most federal crimes committed within the district, as well as suits in which the sued for repayment of debts. In 1819, Congress created a district court for the state of Illinois, which held two annual terms in the state capital.

Circuit courts composed the next level of the federal system and could hear appeals from district courts as well as try some federal criminal and civil cases. In 1837, Congress divided the United States into nine judicial circuits, each of which covered multiple districts. The United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois was included in the seventh circuit. A justice of the United States Supreme Court was assigned to each circuit, holding court twice a year with the judge of each district.

Both district and circuit courts were authorized to issue writs of habeas corpus.

JS’s Illinois Cases

Three of JS’s best-known legal cases in stemmed from crimes allegedly committed in . After JS and the Saints established themselves in in 1839, Missouri officials attempted to have JS apprehended and to answer charges related to the 1838 conflict between the Saints and their antagonists. JS was arrested in June 1841, but after appearing on a writ of habeas corpus before Judge in the Warren County, Illinois, circuit court, he was discharged on the grounds that the warrant was invalid. The following year, Missouri officials again sought JS’s extradition, this time for allegedly being an to the May 1842 shooting of former governor . After going into hiding to avoid arrest in late summer and fall, JS appeared before the Circuit Court for the District of Illinois in January 1843 on a writ of habeas corpus. Judge discharged JS on the grounds that the evidence supplied by the Missouri government was insufficient to justify the extradition. Finally, in June 1843 Missouri officials again sought JS’s extradition to answer an indictment charging him with committing in 1838. On 1 July 1843, the Nauvoo Municipal Court discharged JS on a writ of habeas corpus “on the merits of the case.”

Most of JS’s cases, however, stemmed from events that occurred in Illinois. As documented in the Joseph Smith as a Judge finding aid, JS presided over seventy-seven known cases in the mayor’s court and the municipal court between his appointment as mayor in May 1842 and his murder on 27 June 1844. In the mayor’s court, JS adjudicated both minor criminal cases under Illinois statutes, as a justice of the peace, and alleged breaches of city ordinances, with his authority as mayor. JS also heard minor civil disputes between Nauvoo residents as a justice of the peace. In the municipal court, he presided over alleged breaches of city ordinances, appeals from individuals convicted in the mayor’s or aldermen’s court, and habeas corpus proceedings for prisoners held by state and federal authority.

During the early 1840s JS was also involved in significant civil litigation in . In September 1840, he and other Latter-day Saints purchased a steamboat from the federal government for $4,866.38, providing a as payment. They intended to use the boat to ferry church members and others for a fee on the . After operating for only about a month, however, the pilots crashed the steamboat on a sandbar, severely damaging it. The loss of the boat resulted in multiple lawsuits in the 1840s, as JS and the other signatories attempted to recoup their losses and in turn were sued for unfulfilled obligations. In addition, federal officials in 1842 sued JS and the other signatories in the District Court for the District of Illinois on the note to collect payment, resulting in a judgment against them.

Aside from these financial cases, conflict with antagonists resulted in additional civil litigation. During the attempt to have him apprehended and extradited to in 1843, JS sued the arresting officers for false imprisonment and personal injury. When the case came to trial at the May 1844 term of the , Illinois, circuit court, a jury awarded him $40 in damages. Simultaneously in the , Illinois, circuit court, JS’s critics sought to overwhelm him with litigation, bringing six civil suits against him. Most of these suits, which targeted JS in his capacity as mayor and judge in , were still pending at his death on 27 June 1844.

Conflict with antagonists also resulted in several criminal cases. JS filed complaints in courts accusing multiple individuals of violating city ordinances by threatening or otherwise harming him. At the May 1844 term of the Circuit Court, a grand jury approved two indictments against JS—for adultery and fornication and for —based on testimony from former Latter-day Saints and other opponents. The following month, on 10 June, the Nauvoo City Council, which included JS as mayor, declared the Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper operated by his antagonists, a nuisance and ordered its destruction. One of the Expositor’s proprietors, , filed a complaint before a Hancock County justice of the peace accusing JS and other Latter-day Saints of committing when they destroyed the Expositor’s press. When vigilantes threatened to attack Nauvoo, JS called out the and declared martial law in the city on 18 June. Evidently based on this action, , one of JS’s critics, filed a complaint before a justice of the peace alleging that JS had committed treason, a nonbailable offense that confined him to the Hancock County jail in at the time of his murder.

Information regarding litigation brought against JS’s estate following his death may be found in The Estate of JS.

1
Case files for approximately 40 of these cases have not survived, but the cases are referenced in journals and other sources. Information regarding these cases can be found in the JS as a Judge, JS and Civil Litigation, and JS and the Criminal Justice System finding aids.
2
Illinois Constitution of 1818, art. 4, secs. 1, 8; Severns, Prairie Justice, chap. 5.
Illinois Office of Secretary of State. First Constitution of Illinois, 1818. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.
Severns, Roger L. Prairie Justice: A History of Illinois Courts under French, English, and American Law. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 2015.
3
An Act to Provide for the Election of Justices of the Peace and Constables [30 Dec. 1826], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 400, sec. 4; An Act to Amend an Act, Entitled “An Act to Provide for the Election of Justices of the Peace and Constables” [7 Jan. 1835], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 426, sec. 1.
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
4
Friedman, History of American Law, 97; Edwards, People and Their Peace, 67–68, 80–81.
Friedman, Lawrence M. A History of American Law. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
Edwards, Laura F. The People and Their Peace: Legal Culture and the Transformation of Inequality in the Post-revolutionary South. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.
5
An Act to Amend the Act Relative to Criminal Jurisprudence, approved 30 Jan. 1827 [19 Jan. 1829], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 241–242, secs. 1–4; An Act to Extend the Jurisdiction of Justices of the Peace [29 Dec. 1826], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 414–415, sec. 1; An Act to Amend “An Act concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables,” approved, 13 Feb. 1827 [23 Jan. 1829], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 421–422, sec. 12; An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [6 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 237–238, secs. 1, 3.
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
6
Specifically, justices were permitted to hear common law actions of assumpsit and debt. (An Act concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [3 Feb. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 402, sec. 1.)
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
7
Specifically, justices were permitted to hear common law actions of trespass on personal property as well as trover and conversion. (An Act Supplemental to the Act Entitled “An Act concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables,” passed February 3d, 1827 [12 Feb. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 414.)
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
8
An Act concerning Justices of the Peace and Constables [3 Feb. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 409, sec. 30–31.
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
9
An Act Regulating the Supreme and Circuit Courts [19 Jan. 1829], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 168, 171, secs. 2, 17–20; An Act Reorganizing the Judiciary of the State of Illinois [10 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 173, secs. 2–3; An Act to Establish Circuit Courts [23 Feb. 1841], Laws of the State of Illinois, pp. 103–105, 108, secs. 1–2, 4, 9, 12, 18.
The Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois: Containing All the Laws . . . Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at Their First Session, Commencing December 1, 1834, and Ending February 13, 1835; and at Their Second Session, Commencing December 7, 1835, and Ending January 18, 1836; and Those Passed by the Tenth General Assembly, at Their Session Commencing December 5, 1836, and Ending March 6, 1837; and at Their Special Session, Commencing July 10, and Ending July 22, 1837. . . . Compiled by Jonathan Young Scammon. Chicago: Stephen F. Gale, 1839.
Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Twelfth General Assembly, at Their Session, Began and Held at Springfield, on the Seventh of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty. Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1841.
10
For more information on the similarities and differences between the Nauvoo municipal courts and other municipal courts in Illinois, see Bennett and Cope, “City on a Hill,” 17–40.
Bennett, Richard E., and Rachel Cope. “‘A City on a Hill’—Chartering the City of Nauvoo.” The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal (2002): 17–42.
11
Although section 17 of the charter stated that the mayor had “exclusive jurisdiction in all cases arising under the ordinances,” subsequent language in the section indicated that the Nauvoo Municipal Court could hear appeals “from any decision or judgment of said Mayor or Aldermen,” implying that the aldermen also had jurisdiction over alleged breaches of city ordinances. Two surviving legal documents produced by alderman Daniel H. Wells confirm that he operated a court with jurisdiction over alleged breaches of city ordinances. (Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; Complaint, 1 Apr. 1844 [City of Nauvoo v. C. L. Higbee–B]; Docket Entry, 1 Apr. 1844 [City of Nauvoo v. C. L. Higbee–B]; see also Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 13 Nov. 1841, 30; 14 Jan. 1843, 141–146.)
12
See Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 15 Feb. 1841, 8; 1 Mar. 1841, 12–13; 13 Nov. 1841, 31.
13
Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; “The Nauvoo Municipal Court and the Writ of Habeas Corpus.”
14
Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.
15
An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States [24 Sept. 1789], Public Statutes at Large, vol. 1, pp. 76–77, sec. 9; An Act to Provide for the Due Execution of the Laws of the United States within the State of Illinois [3 Mar. 1819], Public Statutes at Large, vol. 3, pp. 502–503, secs. 1–2.
The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.
16
An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States [24 Sept. 1789], Public Statutes at Large, vol. 1, pp. 78–79, sec. 11; An Act Supplementary to the Act Entitled “An Act to Amend the Judicial System of the United States” [3 Mar. 1837], Public Statutes at Large, pp. 176–178, secs. 1, 3.)
The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.
17
An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States [24 Sept. 1789], Public Statutes at Large, vol. 1, pp. 81–82, sec. 14.
The Public Statutes at Large of the United States of America, from the Organization of the Government in 1789, to March 3, 1845. . . . Edited by Richard Peters. 8 vols. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1846–1867.
18
Introduction to Extradition of JS et al. for Treason and Other Crimes; Introduction to Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault; Introduction to Extradition of JS for Treason; “The Nauvoo Municipal Court and the Writ of Habeas Corpus.”
19
Introduction to Miller et al. v. B. Holladay and W. Holladay; Introduction to Sweeney v. Miller et al.; Introduction to JS et al. v. C. B. Street and M. B. Street.
20
Introduction to United States v. Haws et al.; see also Introduction to Joseph Smith’s Bankruptcy.
21
Introduction to JS v. Reynolds and Wilson.
22
Introduction to Bostwick v. JS and Greene; Introduction to City of Nauvoo v. F. M. Higbee, F. M. Higbee v. JS–A, F. M. Higbee v. JS–A on Habeas Corpus, and F. M. Higbee v. JS–B; Introduction to C. A. Foster v. JS and Coolidge; Introduction to State of Illinois v. Sympson, Sympson v. JS, and State of Illinois v. JS for Perjury; Introduction to State of Illinois v. Finch, State of Illinois v. Finch on Habeas Corpus, and Davis v. JS et al.
23
Introduction to City of Nauvoo v. Davis for Slander of JS–A; Introduction to City of Nauvoo v. Davis for Slander of JS–B and City of Nauvoo v. Davis for Slander of JS–C; Introduction to City of Nauvoo v. Hunter; Introduction to State of Illinois v. Elliott–B.
24
Introduction to State of Illinois v. JS for Fornication and Adultery; Introduction to State of Illinois v. JS for Perjury; Introduction to State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A; Introduction to State of Illinois v. JS and H. Smith for Treason.

Introduction to Joseph Smith’s Illinois Legal Cases

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