Home >
Introduction to Joseph Smith’s Missouri Legal Cases

Introduction to Joseph Smith’s Missouri Legal Cases

In early 1838, JS relocated with his family from to northwestern to reside with the main body of the Latter-day Saints. During summer and fall that year, violent conflict broke out between the Saints and their antagonists in Missouri, resulting in the expulsion of church members and the incarceration of JS in winter 1838–1839. JS was named as a defendant in seven criminal cases stemming from the conflict. He was also a party in at least four civil cases in the state. These cases were brought in Missouri’s .

Relevant Missouri Courts

The Constitution of 1820 called for the state to be divided into circuits, each of which covered multiple counties, with one presiding judge per circuit. The judge was a conservator of the peace in the circuit and could conduct a preliminary examination to determine whether there was probable cause to believe a crime had been committed. Circuit courts, which met in each county during triannual terms, oversaw indictments and jury trials.

In addition, circuit courts heard civil suits for debts exceeding $90 and real and personal property disputes for damages exceeding $20. Finally, circuit courts, as well as county courts and the Missouri Supreme Court, were authorized to review detentions on writs of .

JS’s Missouri Cases

After JS’s arrival in in March 1838, he worked to establish the church’s headquarters in , Missouri, planned to build a in the city, and directed new Latter-day Saint settlements in the region. However, when violence broke out between Latter-day Saints and their antagonists in the state that summer, property of church members and other Missourians was destroyed, and by October 1838, approximately forty church members and one non-Latter-day Saint had been killed.

In October 1838, governor ordered the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints from the state as well as the arrest of JS and other “ring leaders” of the “rebellion.” JS was incarcerated in winter 1838–1839, mostly in the jail of , Missouri. In April 1839, a grand jury for the , Missouri, circuit named JS as a defendant in six criminal indictments for , , , receiving stolen goods, and twice for . A grand jury for the , Missouri, circuit court named him as an to in a seventh indictment.

In mid-April 1839, before any of these cases came to trial, JS was allowed to escape custody, and he relocated to . Although each of the indictments was subsequently dismissed, state officials unsuccessfully sought to JS on these charges twice in the early 1840s. Missouri officials also sought to extradite JS for his alleged complicity in the May 1842 attempted assassination of former governor . JS was able to extricate himself from each of these extradition attempts using the writ of habeas corpus in Illinois courts.

JS was also a party in at least four civil suits in courts, each of which concluded after he departed the state. While in the jail, he sued former Latter-day Saint in the Clay County Circuit Court seeking damages for goods that McLellin had allegedly removed from the Smith home in . The court dismissed the suit in August 1839 on McLellin’s motion. Meanwhile, Asa D. Brashear, an agent for Latter-day Saint , initiated two lawsuits against JS in the Circuit Court to collect payment on two unpaid . The suits came to trial in November 1839, and Judge ruled in Boosinger’s favor on both. Finally, in 1842, JS’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against sheriff in the St. Louis Circuit Court. To satisfy a separate debt against Latter-day Saint bishop and other church leaders, deputy sheriff Henry B. Belt seized some goods from Miller while he was passing through St. Louis in late 1841. JS claimed that the goods had belonged to him and sought damages from Brotherton, who had directed Belt to seize the goods. When the case came to trial in September 1843, neither JS nor his attorneys appeared, leading the court to declare a .

1
Missouri Constitution of 1820, art. 5, secs. 6–7; An Act to Regulate Proceedings in Criminal Cases [21 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, pp. 474–475, art. 2, sec. 2–3.
Missouri Constitution, 1820. Record Group 5, Office of the Secretary of State. MSA.
The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, Revised and Digested by the Eighth General Assembly during the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five. . . . St. Louis: Argus Office, 1835.
2
An Act to Establish Judicial Districts and Circuits, and Prescribe the Times and Places of Holding Courts [17 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, p. 163, sec. 15; An Act to Regulate Proceedings in Criminal Cases [21 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, pp. 478–481, 489–492, arts. 3, 6; An Act to Establish Courts of Record and Prescribe Their Powers and Duties [7 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, p. 155, sec. 8.
The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, Revised and Digested by the Eighth General Assembly during the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five. . . . St. Louis: Argus Office, 1835.
3
An Act to Establish Justices’ Courts, and to Regulate Proceedings Therein [21 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, p. 348, art. 1, sec. 3.
The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, Revised and Digested by the Eighth General Assembly during the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five. . . . St. Louis: Argus Office, 1835.
4
Missouri law authorized the state supreme court, the circuit courts, and the county courts to issue writs of habeas corpus. County courts lacked criminal and civil jurisdiction but instead mostly dealt with probate and administrative matters for the county. (An Act to Regulate Proceedings on Writs of Habeas Corpus [6 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, p. 297, art. 1, sec. 2; An Act to Establish Courts of Record and Prescribe their Powers and Duties [7 Mar. 1835], Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, pp. 156–157, sec. 15.)
The Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, Revised and Digested by the Eighth General Assembly during the Years One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Four, and One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-Five. . . . St. Louis: Argus Office, 1835.
5
Introduction to Documents, Volume 6: February 1838–August 1839.
6
Introduction to State of Missouri v. Gates et al. for Treason; Introduction to State of Missouri v. JS et al. for Riot; Introduction to State of Missouri v. Worthington et al. for Larceny and State of Missouri v. JS for Receiving Stolen Goods; Introduction to State of Missouri v. Baldwin et al. for Arson; Introduction to State of Missouri v. Gates et al. for Arson; Introduction to State of Missouri v. Pratt et al. for Murder.
7
Documents, Volume 6, Introduction to Part 3: 4 Nov. 1838–16 Apr. 1839; 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.
8
Introduction to JS v. McLellin.
9
Introduction to Boosinger v. JS et al. and Boosinger v. Cowdery et al.
10
Introduction to JS v. Brotherton.

Introduction to Joseph Smith’s Missouri Legal Cases

Request for Documents