On 2 January 1843, JS swore an affidavit before the Circuit Court for the District of testifying of his whereabouts at the time of the attempted assassination of former governor . Having petitioned for a writ of on 31 December 1842, JS appeared before the court and asserted that Missouri’s extradition requisition was illegal. JS’s legal counsel in the hearing, , argued that in extradition cases, the United States Constitution allowed extradition only when the requisitioning state accused the defendant of committing a crime in that state. He contended that because JS had not been in Missouri at the time of the 6 May 1842 assassination attempt or for three years prior to that event, Missouri could not charge him with a crime and demand his extradition. On this basis, Butterfield argued that “the U. S. Court was the only tribunal which had jurisdiction in the case,” rejecting the assertion of Illinois state attorney general that the circuit court “had no right to try the case.” The following affidavit, which JS swore before circuit court clerk , provided Butterfield with evidence for the argument that JS had not been in Missouri at the time of the attempted assassination. During the 2–5 January 1843 hearing, Butterfield presented the information in the affidavit before federal judge .

The original affidavit is not extant. On 6 January 1843, created an official copy of the affidavit in cooperation with , who certified that it was “a true and correct copy of the record.” later made another copy based on Clayton’s copy. Clayton’s version is featured here.

See also Introduction to Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault and Appendix 1: Missouri Extradition Attempt, 1842–1843, Selected Documents, Introduction.