Introduction to City of Nauvoo v. R. D. Foster–B, City of Nauvoo v. R. D. Foster–C, and State of Illinois v. R. D. Foster
City of Nauvoo v. R. D. Foster–B
Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, Mayor’s Court, 26 April 1844
Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, Alderman’s Court, 29 April 1844
City of Nauvoo v. R. D. Foster–C
Nauvoo, Hancock Co., Illinois, Mayor’s Court, circa 9 May 1844
State of Illinois v. R. D. Foster
Hancock Co., Illinois, Circuit Court, 20 May 1844
Historical Introduction
In spring 1844, ’s relationship with JS and the church rapidly deteriorated. In March 1844, named Foster as one of the plotting against JS’s life. On 13 April, JS publicly accused Foster of him in a private conversation. After Foster denied the charge and refused to make a public reconciliation, JS preferred a formal ecclesiastical complaint against him for “unchristin like conduct” through , lying, and conspiring against the lives of JS and his family. On 18 April, in response to these charges, Foster was cut off from the church. Several prosecutions targeting Foster grew out of these tensions. Although the specific details of some of these cases are unclear, the circumstances surrounding them match a broader pattern of Foster and other dissenters challenging the authority of JS and the , Illinois, legal system in spring and summer 1844.
City of Nauvoo v. R. D. Foster–B
On 26 April, and several of JS’s other critics were involved in a dispute with city officers, including JS, leading to their conviction in the Nauvoo Mayor’s Court “for resisting the auhoities [authorities] of the city.” That same day, filed a complaint before JS, accusing Foster of “slander” after Foster called Richards a “damned black hearted villain” and alleged that he tried to seduce Foster’s wife, Sarah Phinney Foster. JS issued a warrant for Robert Foster, possibly for breaching a January 1843 ordinance that banned “abusive, indecent, or threatening words.” Foster was brought before JS on the morning of 27 April. According to JS’s journal, Foster was highly contentious during the trial, accusing JS of “a great variety of vile & false epithets & charges.” Ultimately the court adjourned until the next Monday. When the court resumed on 29 April, JS transferred the case to Nauvoo city .Foster objected to the court’s jurisdiction over the case and complained of the informality of the proceedings. Sources regarding the outcome are contradictory. Richards’s personal journal states that the case was abated due to an “informality in [the] writ”; however, Richards’s entry in JS’s journal suggests that the court decided that Foster’s objections lacked “foundati[o]n.” If Foster was found guilty, there is no record of his case being appealed to the Nauvoo Municipal Court, nor are there any extant Nauvoo court documents related to this case.
City of Nauvoo v. R. D. Foster–C
Around 9 May 1844, Latter-day Saint Jonas Killmer complained to JS that had used threatening language toward him and him “with a Brick Bat.” Based on this complaint, city attorney drafted or copied a warrant for Foster’s arrest on 9 May 1844. Although the crime of assault was defined by an statute, Foster was charged with violating a Nauvoo city ordinance, presumably a January 1843 ordinance that prohibited “abusive” language and assault. It is unknown whether the warrant was served or if further legal action was taken against Foster. Aside from the draft warrant, no other Nauvoo Mayor’s Court legal documents connected to this case are known to exist. Nor is there any reference to the case in contemporary journals or records, although multiple sources recorded other conflicts with Foster during this period.
State of Illinois v. R. D. Foster
In May 1844, appealed an unspecified conviction to the , Illinois, circuit court. A lack of extant documents related to this decision obscures what charge Foster had appealed and from which court. Although it is possible this case arose from an otherwise undocumented prosecution before a , the timing of the appeal suggests it was likely connected to either the slander or the assault case, both of which had originated in the Mayor’s Court. Circumstances surrounding either case would likely support an appeal to the circuit court. During the slander case, Foster objected to the city court’s jurisdiction, suggesting he may have appealed directly to the circuit court to address this question rather than to the Nauvoo Municipal Court. On the other hand, in the assault case, JS sought to prosecute Foster under a Nauvoo city ordinance, even though had a state statute regulating assault. Under Illinois law, assault cases were normally appealed directly from a justice of the peace to a county circuit court, and Foster’s appeal to the Hancock County Circuit Court in this instance may have been along those jurisdictional lines. On 20 May 1844, Foster’s attorneys submitted a motion to the circuit court to reverse the judgment of an unnamed lower court “for want of prosecution.” The circuit court sustained the motion, dismissing the case.
Calendar of Documents
This calendar lists all known documents created by or for the court, whether extant or not. It does not include versions of documents created for other purposes, though those versions may be listed in footnotes. In certain cases, especially in cases concerning unpaid debts, the originating document (promissory note, invoice, etc.) is listed here. Note that documents in the calendar are grouped with their originating court. Where a version of a document was subsequently filed with another court, that version is listed under both courts.
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