Footnotes

1. [1]

   Allegations that JS was involved began to spread within weeks of the attempted assassination on 6 May 1842. (“Assassination of Ex-Governor Boggs of Missouri,” Quincy [IL] Whig, 21 May 1842, [3]; see also Letter to Sylvester Bartlett, 22 May 1842.)

   Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

2. [2]

   Letter to Thomas Carlin, 24 June 1842.

3. [3]

   John C. Bennett, Nauvoo, IL, 27 June 1842, Letter to the Editor, Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 8 July 1842, [2].

   Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

4. [4]

   According to Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, a writ of habeas corpus was an order signed by a judge that directed the arresting officer or more generally “any one having a person in his custody or under his restraint” to produce a specified person “at a certain time and place, and to state the reasons why he is held in custody, or under restraint.” (“Habeas Corpus,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:454.)

   Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.

5. [5]

   Blackstone, Commentaries, 2:103–107; “Habeas Corpus,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:454–456; U.S. Constitution, art. 1, sec. 9; Illinois Constitution of 1818, art. 8, sec. 13; see also Walker, “Habeas Corpus in Early Nineteenth-Century Mormonism,” 5–97.

   Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England: In Four Books; with an Analysis of the Work. By Sir William Blackstone, Knt. One of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas. In Two Volumes, from the Eighteenth London Edition. . . . 2 vols. New York: W. E. Dean, 1840.

   Bouvier, John. A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, and of the Several States of the American Union; With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Deacon and Peterson, 1854.

   Illinois Office of Secretary of State. First Constitution of Illinois, 1818. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.

   Walker, Jeffrey N. “Habeas Corpus in Early Nineteenth-Century Mormonism: Joseph Smith’s Legal Bulwark for Personal Freedom.” BYU Studies 52, no. 1 (2013): 4–97.

6. [6]

   The earliest instance of JS petitioning for habeas corpus was apparently in August 1838, when JS’s clerks prepared a petition to be given to Elias Higbee. (See Petition to Elias Higbee, ca. 16 Aug. 1838 [State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Riot], George W. Robinson, Papers, CHL.)

7. [7]

   See Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839.

8. [8]

   See Petition to George Tompkins, between 9 and 15 Mar. 1839.

9. [9]

   JS obtained the writ of habeas corpus in Quincy, Illinois, and the subsequent hearing was held in Monmouth, Illinois, and presided over by Stephen A. Douglas, an associate justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. Douglas ruled that the writ used to arrest JS, although originally valid, had been returned to Illinois governor Thomas Carlin before it was used to arrest JS and was therefore no longer valid. (“The Late Proceedings,” Times and Seasons, 15 June 1841, 2:447–449; see also Historical Introduction to Statement of Expenses to Thomas King, 30 Sept. 1841.)

   Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

10. [10]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; see also Kimball, “Nauvoo Charter,” 41–43.

    Kimball, James L., Jr. “A Wall to Defend Zion: The Nauvoo Charter.” BYU Studies 15, no. 4 (Summer 1975): 491–497.

11. [11]

    The judge of the Chicago Municipal Court was authorized to issue writs of habeas corpus and “to perform all the judicial duties appertaining to the office of judge of the circuit courts.” Likewise, the judge of the Alton Municipal Court was authorized to issue writs of habeas corpus, “and the same proceedings shall be had thereon before said judge and court as may be had in like cases before the circuit judges and circuit courts of this State, respectively.” (An Act in Relation to the Municipal Court of Chicago, and for Other Purposes [21 July 1837], Laws of the State of Illinois [10–23 July 1837], pp. 15–16; An Act to Amend an Act, Entitled, “An Act to Incorporate the City of Alton” [2 Mar. 1839], Incorporation Laws of the State of Illinois [1838–1839], p. 240, sec. 1.)

    Incorporation Laws of the State of Illinois; Passed at a Session of the General Assembly, Begun and Held at Vandalia the 6th Day of December, 1836. Vandalia, IL; William Walters, 1837.

12. [12]

    The first section of the 1827 Illinois law on habeas corpus allowed individuals who had been charged or detained to “apply to the supreme or circuit courts . . . or any judge thereof . . . for a writ of habeas corpus.” (An Act Regulating the Proceeding on Writs of Habeas Corpus [22 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 322, sec. 1, italics in original.)

    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.

13. [13]

    An Act Regulating the Proceeding on Writs of Habeas Corpus [22 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 326, sec. 11. This statute accorded with a state law, passed during the same month, regarding fugitives from justice. (See An Act concerning Fugitives from Justice [6 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1834–1837], p. 318, 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.

14. [14]

    See Thomas Carlin, Quincy, IL, to Emma Smith, [Nauvoo, IL], 7 Sept. 1842; “Recent Attempt to Arrest the Prophet,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 13 Aug. 1842, [3]; and “An Ordinance,” Warsaw Signal, 20 Aug. 1842, [2].

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

15. [15]

    Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840. Emma Smith made this argument in her 27 August 1842 letter to Governor Carlin, and JS made the same argument in a discourse given on 30 June 1843. (Emma Smith, Nauvoo, IL, to Thomas Carlin, 27 Aug. 1842; JS, Discourse, 30 June 1843, in Woodruff, Journal, 30 June 1843; see also “Vested Rights of Nauvoo,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 30 Aug. 1843, [2]; and Kimball, “Nauvoo Charter,” 41.)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

    Kimball, James L., Jr. “A Wall to Defend Zion: The Nauvoo Charter.” BYU Studies 15, no. 4 (Summer 1975): 491–497.

16. [16]

    “An Ordinance in Relation to Writs of Habeas Corpus,” Wasp, 16 July 1842, [4]; “An Ordinance Entitled ‘An Ordinance, in Relation to Writs of Habeas Corpus,’” Wasp, between 30 July and 4 Aug. 1842, [3].

17. [17]

    Later ordinances are found in Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 8 Aug. 1842, 98–99; 9 Sept. 1842, 101; 14 Nov. 1842, 119–129; 8 Dec. 1843, 190–191.

18. [18]

    See Ordinance in Relation to Writs of Habeas Corpus, 5 July 1842, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.