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Docket Entry, circa 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus]

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Introduction to State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A, State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus, and State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–B Warrant, 11 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Warrant, 11 June 1844, William Clayton Copy [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Warrant, 11 June 1844, John Taylor and Willard Richards Copy [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Recognizance, 25 June 1844–A [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Recognizance, 25 June 1844–B [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Recognizance, 25 June 1844–C [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Recognizance, 25 June 1844–D [State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A] Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Habeas Corpus, 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Summons, 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Minutes, 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Testimonies, 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Docket Entry, circa 12 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Execution, 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Trial Report, between circa 12 and 20 June 1844, Draft [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Trial Report, between circa 12 and 20 June 1844, Partial Draft [State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus] Petition, 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus] Habeas Corpus, 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus] Habeas Corpus, 13 June 1844, Copy [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus] Execution, 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus] Docket Entry, circa 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus]

Docket Entry, circa 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus]

Source Note

Docket Entry, , Hancock Co., IL, [ca. 13 June 1844], State of IL v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus (Nauvoo, IL, Municipal Court 1844); Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 111–112; handwriting of and ; Historian’s Office, Historical Record Book, 1841–1874, CHL. Includes use marks and notations. For more complete source information, see the source note for Docket Entry, 18–31 May 1844 [United States v. Jeremiah Smith on Habeas Corpus–A].

Historical Introduction

On 13 June 1844, JS, as chief justice of the municipal court in , Hancock County, Illinois, presided over proceedings for and fifteen other defendants. Two days earlier , a justice of the peace, issued a warrant charging the men, along with JS, with for their roles in the destruction of the press of the Nauvoo Expositor. On 12 June, Hancock County constable arrested JS, who was then discharged by the municipal court on a writ of habeas corpus. The next day, Bettisworth arrested eight of the other men named in the warrant—, , , , , , , and . The defendants submitted a petition for habeas corpus to the municipal court arguing that they were not guilty of the offense. The petition further asserted that ’s complaint was motivated by malice, revenge, and a desire to bring a mob against Nauvoo. After receiving the petition, , as clerk of the municipal court, issued the writ of habeas corpus, filling in blanks on a printed form. One of the defendants, , acting in his capacity as a high constable of Nauvoo, served the writ of habeas corpus on Bettisworth and brought the constable and the prisoners before the court. Subsequently, one of Bettisworth’s deputies, possibly Thomas Barnes of , Illinois, arrested an additional eight men named in the warrant—, , , , , , , and . After the petition for habeas corpus was amended to include their names, Richards accordingly revised the writ of habeas corpus, and these additional defendants were also brought into the court.
JS, as chief justice of the municipal court, presided over the proceedings, which commenced at 9:00 a.m. in the . He was joined by associate justices , , , , and . city attorney represented the petitioners, whose defense centered on whether the order to suppress the press and its implementation met the legal definition of riot. Illinois law defined the crime as “an unlawful act” performed by two or more people “with force or violence against the person or property of another, with or without a common cause of quarrel.” The law also indicated that a riot could be “a lawful act” performed “in a violent and tumultuous manner.” The justices heard a few documents read into evidence, including the city council’s resolution declaring the Expositor a nuisance and JS’s two orders for the of the press. gave a statement about the defendants’ right to habeas corpus, after which two witnesses, and James Jackson, testified regarding the orderly and quiet manner in which the defendants carried out the order to destroy the press. JS and the court then “honorably discharged [the prisoners] from the accusations and arrest.” The justices also held that had instituted the suit out of malice and ordered him to pay the court costs.
During the proceedings, , possibly with the assistance of other scribes, likely kept contemporaneous notes, minutes, or other records, which are apparently not extant. Richards would have combined those minutes with the list of case costs to produce the official entry for the case that he recorded in the municipal court’s docket book. He inscribed the docket entry on or around 13 June 1844. The municipal court’s discharge of the prisoners further fueled the volatile situation in , as the ’s opponents contended that JS and the Municipal Court had obstructed ’s efforts to arrest JS and his codefendants.

Footnotes

  1. See Historical Introduction to Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 12 June 1844.

  2. Bettisworth wrote these names in a return notation on the copy of the 11 June 1844 warrant, which is featured herein with JS’s petition for habeas corpus. (Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 12 June 1844.)

  3. Hyrum Smith et al., Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844), Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; see also Historical Introduction to Docket Entry, 18–31 May 1844.

  4. Willard Richards, Writ of Habeas Corpus, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844), Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL. A November 1842 ordinance directed that petitions be submitted to the municipal court clerk when the court was not in session and that the clerk issue the writ. (Ordinance, 14 Nov. 1842.)

  5. Willard Richards, Writ of Habeas Corpus, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844), Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

  6. Warsaw (IL) Signal, Extra, 14 June 1844, [1]; Thomas Barnes, Ukiah, CA, to Miranda Haskett, 1 Nov. 1897, 8, photocopy, CHL. These names were written in the third return notation inscribed on the copy of the 11 June 1844 warrant, which is featured in this volume with JS’s petition for habeas corpus. (Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 12 June 1844.)

    Warsaw Signal. Warsaw, IL. 1841–1853.

    Barnes, Thomas L. Letter, Ukiah, CA, to Miranda Haskett, 1 Nov. 1897. Photocopy. CHL.

  7. Hyrum Smith et al., Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844; Willard Richards, Writ of Habeas Corpus, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844), Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL. Jesse Harmon was the only defendant on the warrant not arrested by Bettisworth or a deputy.

  8. JS, Journal, 13 June 1844.

  9. An Act Relative to Criminal Jurisprudence [26 Feb. 1833], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois (1839), p. 220, sec. 117.

    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.

  10. See Historical Introduction to State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–A, State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus, and State of Illinois v. JS et al. for Riot–B.

  11. See Historical Introduction to Docket Entry, 18–31 May 1844.

  12. Historical Introduction to Statement, 17 June 1844.

Page 111

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Municipal Court.
State of Illinois)
City of )
. ,

June 1814–9 June 1878. Ferry operator, herdsman, farmer. Born in Belchertown, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Orin Rockwell and Sarah Witt. Moved to Farmington (later in Manchester), Ontario Co., New York, 1817. Neighbor to JS. Baptized into Church of...

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June 1814–9 June 1878. Ferry operator, herdsman, farmer. Born in Belchertown, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of Orin Rockwell and Sarah Witt. Moved to Farmington (later in Manchester), Ontario Co., New York, 1817. Neighbor to JS. Baptized into Church of...

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, , , [,] & on June 13[th] 1844.
Docketing suit $ [.]12½
Habus Corpes .50
Servic[e] on H. C. .27½ <​.55​>
.25
se[r]vice on Subpo[e]na .30
3 witnsses fees 1.50
Swearing 2 witness .12½
Justices fees 7.75
Entering Final [.]25
11.35½
— .25
11.60
attendig cou[r]t 1[.00]
12.60
<entering return [.]12½
’s service [.]50
13.22½>
This
This day came . . . , & before the court and upon the reading and filing the petition for a writ of Habus corpus to be dircted to one . to have the Bodies of said Petitione[r]s before the court. The court ordered a writ of Habeus corpus to be granted according to the payes [prayers] of the petitioners Subpoena issued.
Habus corpus served by H. C. [high constable]— and retur[ne]d theron the prisoners before the court, all on file. Made his retu[r]n on the copy of the warrant form— . J. P. all on file.
read Kents [James Kent’s] commentaries p. 26.— Cou[r]t gave leave to amend the writ and insert the names of . . . [,] , . . &
Counsellor read. [William] Blackstone. 4. 6 page 4. vol 2.
The Resolution of the City Council declaring the printing Establishment of the Nauvoo Expositor a as Nuisance was read.
The order of the <​Mayor​> to the to Execute the resolution of the council— and also, of the Lieut General’s order to the to assist the in de[s]troying Said Press.— spoke in his defence.
, Marshal, <​​> Sworn, was present at the destru[c]tion of the Printing establishment of the Nauvoo Expositor on the 10th inst by order of the .— calld upon the people to keep quiet and make no noise. All was done qu[i]etly, the prosecutors Made more noise than all the rest of the company. and threatened a total overth[r]ow of life and propety in this place within 10 days—
James Jackson. sworn. confirmd previous testimony, never saw business done with less disturban[c]e in his life.—
Present Joseph Smith Chief justice. , , and associate Justices, [p. 111]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Docket Entry, circa 13 June 1844 [State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus]
ID #
10665
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Willard Richards
  • Thomas Bullock

Footnotes

  1. TEXT: This list of fees appears in the left margin of page 111. Unless otherwise noted, these costs are in accordance with an ordinance standardizing court fees that was passed by the Nauvoo City Council in January 1843. (Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 14 Jan. 1843, 141–146.)

  2. Nauvoo’s 1843 fee ordinance provided the officer attending the court twenty-five cents for serving a writ and five cents per mile spent traveling from the court to the location where the detaining officer held the prisoner and conveying the prisoner to the court. (Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 14 Jan. 1843, 143–144.)

  3. Nauvoo’s 1843 fee ordinance permitted the chief justice to claim $3.00 and associate justices $2.50 per day for attending court. It is possible that JS and the associate justices were charging for only a portion of the day. (Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 14 Jan. 1843, 141.)

  4. The 1843 fee ordinance permitted the marshal to claim two dollars per day for attending court. (Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 14 Jan. 1843, 143.)

  5. Insertion in the handwriting of Thomas Bullock. These final, added charges (of $0.62½ beyond the initial total of $12.60) and the new total were calculated after Nauvoo city marshal Jonathan C. Wright inscribed his return notation on the writ of execution on 4 November 1844. (Willard Richards, Execution, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus [Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844], Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)

  6. Hyrum Smith et al., Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844), Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

  7. Willard Richards, Writ of Habeas Corpus, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844), Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

  8. The referenced subpoena is apparently not extant. It was presumably for Addison Everett and James Jackson, both of whom testified in the proceedings.

  9. The act incorporating the city of Nauvoo, often called the Nauvoo charter, designated the city marshal the city’s “principal ministerial officer,” tasked with executing all process issued by the mayor’s court, aldermen’s courts, and municipal court. Nauvoo city marshal John P. Greene was evidently unable to serve the writ as he was among the second group of arrested defendants, who had not yet appeared in court. In 1841 the Nauvoo City Council created the position of high constable, whose duties included assisting the marshal and serving process in the marshal’s absence. Huntington, high constable of the Nauvoo First Ward, served the writ of habeas corpus on 13 June 1844 on behalf of Greene. Huntington was with the first group of arrested defendants, who were in the court when the writ was granted. (Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; Minutes, 1 Mar. 1841; Docket Entry, Nauvoo, IL, 2–ca. 3 Apr. 1844, State of Illinois v. Greene et al. on Habeas Corpus [Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844], Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 93; Willard Richards, Writ of Habeas Corpus, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus [Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844], Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)

  10. A copy of Morrison’s warrant, on which Bettisworth inscribed his return notations, is featured herein with JS’s petition for habeas corpus. (Willard Richards, Writ of Habeas Corpus, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus [Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844], Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 12 June 1844.)

  11. Kent was a prominent American judge and legal theorist. He wrote in his commentary that a detained individual was entitled to a writ of habeas corpus, unless the person was in custody for treason or another major crime. (Kent, Commentaries on American Law, 2:26.)

    Kent, James. Commentaries on American Law. Vol. 2. New York: O. Halsted, 1827.

  12. Willard Richards, Writ of Habeas Corpus, Nauvoo, IL, 13 June 1844, State of Illinois v. H. Smith et al. on Habeas Corpus (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844), Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

  13. Stiles cited footnote 6 on page 4 of volume 2 of the 1840 American edition of Blackstone’s commentaries on English law, which defined “a libellous print or paper” as a nuisance. (Blackstone, Commentaries, vol. 2, bk. 3, pp. 4–5.)

    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.

  14. Resolution, 10 June 1844.

  15. Mayor’s Order to Nauvoo City Marshal, 10 June 1844; Military Order to Jonathan Dunham, 10 June 1844.

  16. Everett, a Latter-day Saint, reported on 11 June 1844 that as the posse was destroying the press, Francis M. Higbee predicted that “in 10 days there will not be a Mormon left in Nauvoo.” (Willard Richards, Minutes concerning Threats, 11 June 1844, Historian’s Office, JS History Documents, ca. 1839–1860, CHL; JS, Journal, 11 June 1844.)

    Historian’s Office. Joseph Smith History Documents, 1839–1860. CHL. CR 100 396.

  17. Jackson was apparently visiting Nauvoo on 10 June 1844 when he witnessed the destruction of the press. He testified in JS’s 12 June 1844 habeas corpus proceedings regarding the orderly manner in which the posse destroyed the press. He recalled that Francis M. Higbee and Charles A. Foster were the only people causing confusion, as they used “blackguarding” language against the posse and the city leaders. (Testimonies, Nauvoo, IL, 12 June 1844, State of Illinois v. JS for Riot on Habeas Corpus [Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1844], p. [2], Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)

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