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Introduction to State of Illinois v. Finch, State of Illinois v. Finch on Habeas Corpus, and Davis v. JS et al. Praecipe, circa 22 February 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Praecipe, 23 February 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Summons, 24 February 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Subpoena, 24 February 1844–A [Davis v. JS et al.] Subpoena, 24 February 1844–B [Davis v. JS et al.] Subpoena, 24 February 1844–C [Davis v. JS et al.] Notice, 9 April 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Notice, 9 April 1844, Copy [Davis v. JS et al.] Docket Entry, Leave to Plead, 21 May 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Pleas, circa 22 May 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Demurrer, circa 22 May 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Attachment, 23 May 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Docket Entry, Plea, 23 May 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Docket Entry, Motion and Change of Venue, 23 May 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Case File Wrapper, circa May 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Affidavit, 6 August 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Motion, circa 6 August 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Docket Entry, Notification of Death and Dismissal, 21 October 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.] Docket Entry, Fee Bill, between 22 November 1844 and circa 20 February 1845 [Davis v. JS et al.] Praecipe, 25 February 1845 [Davis v. JS et al.] Docket Entry, Alias Fee Bill, between 29 March and circa 7 July 1845 [Davis v. JS et al.] Docket Entry, circa 7 July 1845 [Davis v. JS et al.]

Summons, 24 February 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.]

Source Note

on behalf of , Summons, to Sheriff [], for JS, , and , , Hancock Co., IL, 24 Feb. 1844, Davis v. JS et al. (Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court 1844); printed form with manuscript additions in the handwriting of ; docket and notations printed with manuscript additions by , [, Hancock Co., IL, 24 Feb. 1844]; notation printed with manuscript additions by , , IL, 5 Mar. 1844; notation by , [, Hancock Co., IL], 6 May 1844; two pages; JS Collection (Supplement), CHL. Includes seal, docket, and notations.
Single leaf measuring 6¼ × 8⅛ inches (16 × 21 cm). The left and bottom edges of the recto are torn. The document is a printed form that was created prior to May 1843. Once it was filled out in black ink, the document was trifolded for docketing and storage.
The document was filed by Hancock County Circuit Court clerk on 6 May 1844. It entered private possession at an unknown time and was subsequently acquired by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church Historical Department (now CHL) published a register of the JS Collection in 1973. However, the department’s staff continued to locate documents authored by or directed to JS in uncataloged church financial records and in name and subject files. The department also acquired additional JS documents from donors, collectors, and dealers. These newly located and acquired documents were kept together in a supplement to the JS Collection that was closed to further acquisitions in 1984 and was named the JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection (Supplement), 1833–1844, in the CHL catalog. A preliminary inventory of the supplement was created in 1992 and its cataloging was finalized in 2017.

Historical Introduction

On 24 February 1844, the circuit court of , Illinois, issued a summons to the of instructing him to order JS, , and to appear before the court to answer a trespass complaint made by , Illinois, resident . Matters between JS and Davis had been tumultuous during the previous four years. Davis joined the in 1840, but his relationship with JS had soured by 1842, and the two men were entangled in at least six criminal cases between March and December 1842 in which JS acted as either judge, complainant, or witness against Davis. The cumulative effects of these cases led Davis to swear out a statement during the final suit in which he claimed that JS was “so prejudised against him” that he could not receive “a fair and Impartial trial” with JS sitting as judge.
’s 1844 legal dispute with JS and the other named men grew out of an earlier legal case JS had presided over in fall 1843. In late November, Davis filed a complaint alleging that , a fellow merchant in the city, stole a clothes brush from Davis. Based on the complaint, justice of the peace issued a warrant for Finch’s arrest. After a hearing, Higbee ordered Finch to pay $300 bail and appear at the next session of the county circuit court, to be held in May 1844, to answer the charge. Finch, however, refused to pay the bail, so Justice Higbee ordered him to await trial in the county jail. Before he could be conveyed to jail at , Illinois, Finch petitioned the Municipal Court for a writ of , a legal measure that allows an authorized court to review the legality of a prisoner’s arrest or detention. When the Nauvoo Municipal Court, presided over by JS, met on 24 November 1843 to hear Finch’s case, it approved a motion to “proceed to trial on the merits of the cause,” which deviated from the traditional process of habeas corpus but was nevertheless allowed by city ordinances. After hearing witnesses, the court discharged Finch from arrest. Moreover, the court ordered Davis to pay the costs of the case, as it was determined that he had instigated “a vexatious and malicious suit” against Finch.
On 15 December, , clerk of the Municipal Court, issued a writ of execution to collect $24.30¼ from . Over the next month, newly appointed city marshal seized a horse, buggy, harness, and twenty-five bags of salt from Davis to pay the costs plus Greene’s own collection fees. The amount of property Greene seized to satisfy the execution considerably exceeded the costs. According to his own calculations, Greene appraised the salt he seized at $30 alone. Moreover, Greene valued the horse, buggy, and harness at just $5.31, although they were probably worth well over $100.
In February 1844, initiated a suit of against JS, , and in the circuit court to recover $300 in damages. Davis appears to have based this action on the execution from the case, although it is unclear why Spencer, a alderman, was singled out and not the other members of the municipal court. Trespass was a broad common law category of civil suits designed to recover damages from unlawful injuries to person or property, including the “carrying away” of property. Because most of the records related to this February 1844 case, including Davis’s declaration outlining his claims, are apparently not extant, the exact details of this case are unknown. However, both the request to issue the summons prepared by Davis’s attorneys and a subsequent notice to produce papers demanded that bring all the legal documents connected to the earlier case against Finch to the circuit court as part of Davis’s suit, indicating that the two cases were connected. In suing JS and the other defendants, Davis was either challenging Greene’s exorbitant enforcement of the execution or making a broader objection to the municipal court’s jurisdiction in the case against Finch.
Based on ’s complaint, Circuit Court deputy clerk issued a summons on 24 February 1844 ordering JS, , and to appear at the May 1844 term of the court to answer the charge. Head utilized a printed form specifically designed for trespass cases, which required him only to fill in the names of the individuals involved, the amount of damages sought, and other relevant information.
Although the summons was addressed to the sheriff of , who at the time was , apparently gave the summons to , a county constable and deputy sheriff. Parker then served the summons on JS and on 5 March 1844. As stated in the summons form, Parker would have served the summons by reading the text of the document to JS and the others. After endorsing the summons, Parker returned it to the circuit court, and on 6 May 1844 court clerk filed it with other documents related to the case.
When the case initially came to trial in May 1844, JS, , and obtained a change of venue to neighboring , Illinois, to appear in October 1844. However, JS and Greene died before the case could again come to trial. In October 1844, the Circuit Court dismissed the suit.
See also Introduction to State of Illinois v. Finch, State of Illinois v. Finch on Habeas Corpus, and Davis v. JS et al.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Good News from America,” Millennial Star, July 1840, 1:63. In March 1842, JS charged Davis with slandering him under Nauvoo’s vagrancy and disorderly persons ordinance after Davis publicly accused JS of swindling him in their business dealings. Later that year, Davis was again brought before Nauvoo’s mayoral and municipal courts to answer charges of slander, as well as charges of assault and of violating Nauvoo’s temperance ordinance. (Historical Introductions to City of Nauvoo v. Davis for Slander of JS–A; City of Nauvoo v. Davis for Slander of JS–B; City of Nauvoo v. Davis for Slander of JS–C; City of Nauvoo v. Davis for Ardent Spirits; City of Nauvoo v. Davis for Assault; and City of Nauvoo v. Davis for Slander of Miles; see also Complaint against Amos Davis, 29 Nov. 1842; and City of Nauvoo v. Davis, 6 Dec. 1842.)

    Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star. Manchester, England, 1840–1842; Liverpool, 1842–1932; London, 1932–1970.

  2. [2]

    City of Nauvoo v. Davis, 6 Dec. 1842.

  3. [3]

    Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 938, 950.

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

  4. [4]

    John Finch, Petition, 23 Nov. 1843, State of Illinois v. Finch (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843); Isaac Higbee, Mittimus, 23 Nov. 1843, State of Illinois v. Finch (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), copy; Habeas Corpus, 23 Nov. 1843, State of Illinois v. Finch (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), copy, Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL. The Nauvoo charter gave the city’s municipal court “power to grant writs of habeas corpus in all cases arising under the ordinances of the City Council.” Beginning in July 1842, the Nauvoo City Council passed a series of four ordinances that delineated and expanded the municipal court’s authority to issue writs of habeas corpus beyond what was typically allowed at the time. (Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; Ordinance, 5 July 1842; Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 8 Aug. and 9 Sept. 1842, 98–99, 101; Ordinance, 14 Nov. 1842.)

  5. [5]

    Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 89. In habeas corpus proceedings, courts were traditionally forbidden from inquiring into the evidence that led to the arrest except under very specific circumstances. In contrast, Nauvoo’s city ordinances explicitly required the municipal court “to examine into the origin, validity, & legality of the Writ or Process.” (Blackstone, Commentaries, 2:107; Kent, Commentaries on American Law, 2:25–32; An Act Regulating the Proceeding on Writs of Habeas Corpus [22 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 324, sec. 3; Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 8 Aug. 1842, 98; Ordinance, 14 Nov. 1842.)

    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.

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

    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. [6]

    Nauvoo Municipal Court Docket Book, 89–90. This ruling was likely based on the city’s 8 August 1842 ordinance regulating habeas corpus proceedings. This ordinance stipulated that if a court discovered that an arrest warrant had been issued “either through private pique, malicious intent, religious or other persecution, falsehood, or misrepresentation, contrary to the constitution of this State, or the constitution of the United States,” the court was authorized to quash the warrant. Finch explicitly pointed to this statute in his petition to the municipal court for a writ of habeas corpus. (Nauvoo City Council Minute Book, 8 Aug. 1842, 98; John Finch, Petition, 23 Nov. 1843, State of Illinois v. Finch [Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843], Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.)

  7. [7]

    Execution, 15 Dec. 1843, State of Illinois v. Finch (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL.

  8. [8]

    Execution, 15 Dec. 1843, State of Illinois v. Finch (Nauvoo Mun. Ct. 1843), Nauvoo, IL, Records, CHL; see also Book of the Law of the Lord, 109.

  9. [9]

    “Trespass,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:579–580.

    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.

  10. [10]

    Praecipe, 23 Feb. 1844, Davis v. JS et al. (Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844); Notice, 9 Apr. 1844, Davis v. JS et al. (Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844), Illinois State Historical Society, Circuit Court Case Files [Cases pertaining to Mormon Residents], 1830–1900, CHL.

  11. [11]

    According to Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, as long as defendants “acted under regular process of a court of competent jurisdiction,” they could not be sued for trespass. However, if “the court has no jurisdiction and the process is wholly void,” then the defendant was open to a suit of trespass. (“Trespass,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:580.)

    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.

  12. [12]

    Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court Records, 1829–1897, vol. D, pp. 122, 171, microfilm 947,496, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

Page [1]

State of Illinois,) Sct.
.)
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF , TO THE OF SAID ,— GREETING:
WE COMMAND YOU TO SUMMON Joseph Smith, & if to be found in your , to appear before the Circuit Court of said county of , on the first day of the next term thereof, to be holden at the Court House, in , on the Third Monday in the month of May AD 1844 to answer the complaint of of a plea of on Premises, to his damage, the sum of Three Hundred Dollars, as he says. And have you then there this writ, and make return thereon in what manner you execute the same.
<​CIRCUIT COURT HANCOCK COUNTY ILLINOIS​>
Witness, <​​>, Clerk of our said Circuit Court, at , this Twenty fourth day of February in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-four
Clerk.
By Depy [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Summons, 24 February 1844 [Davis v. JS et al.]
ID #
1836
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text
  • David E. Head

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    “Sct.” is an abbreviation for scilicet, a Latin adverb meaning “namely” or “to wit.” (“Scilicet,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:483.)

    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.

  2. [2]

    Located on the town square in Carthage, the Hancock County Courthouse was completed in 1839. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 237.)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

  3. [3]

    20 May 1844.

  4. [4]

    TEXT: Head inserted vertical lines or parenthesis marks to demark the limits of the cancellation.

  5. [5]

    TEXT: Embossed seal with a female personification of Justice surrounded by a crown of laurels and the text.

  6. [6]

    Backenstos replaced Jacob C. Davis, the previous clerk, in May 1843. (Gregg, History of Hancock County, Illinois, 240.)

    Gregg, Thomas. History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws. Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880.

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