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Petition to the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois, 31 December 1842, William Clayton Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault]

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Introduction to Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault Proclamation, 11 May 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Lilburn W. Boggs, Affidavit, 20 July 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Lilburn W. Boggs, Affidavit, 20 July 1842, Lyman Trumbull Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Lilburn W. Boggs, Affidavit, 20 July 1842, William Clayton Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Thomas Reynolds, Requisition, 22 July 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Thomas Reynolds, Requisition, 22 July 1842, Lyman Trumbull Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Thomas Reynolds, Requisition, 22 July 1842, William Clayton Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Memorandum of Proclamation, 19 September 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Warrant, 2 August 1842, Sylvester Emmons and William Clayton Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Warrant, 2 August 1842, James Sloan Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Thomas Carlin, Proclamation, 20 September 1842, as Published in Illinois Register [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Thomas Carlin, Proclamation, 20 September 1842, William Clayton First Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Thomas Carlin, Proclamation, 20 September 1842, William Clayton Second Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Petition to Thomas Ford, 31 December 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Petition to Thomas Ford, 31 December 1842, Lyman Trumbull Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Warrant, 31 December 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Warrant, 31 December 1842, William Clayton Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Petition to Nauvoo Municipal Court, 8 August 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Habeas Corpus, 8 August 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Habeas Corpus, 8 August 1842, Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Docket Entry, circa 8 August 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Habeas Corpus, 10 August 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Habeas Corpus, 10 August 1842, Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Petition to Chauncey Robison, 26 December 1842, Draft [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Petition to Chauncey Robison, 26 December 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Petition to the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois, 31 December 1842, Willard Richards Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Petition to the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois, 31 December 1842, William Clayton Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Docket Entry, Petition and Order for Habeas Corpus, 31 December 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Habeas Corpus, 31 December 1842, Willard Richards Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Habeas Corpus, 31 December 1842, William Clayton Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Docket Entry, Return of Habeas Corpus, Bond, and Order, 31 December 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Order, 31 December 1842 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Order, 31 December 1842, Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Affidavit, 2 January 1843, William Clayton Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Docket Entry, Affidavit, Motion, and Continuance, 2 January 1843 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Motion, circa 3 January 1843 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Docket Entry, Motion, 4 January 1843 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Wilson Law and Others, Affidavit, 4 January 1843, Willard Richards Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Jacob B. Backenstos and Stephen A. Douglas, Affidavit, 4 January 1843 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Docket Entry, Motion Overruled and Discharge, 5 January 1843 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Trial Report, 5–19 January 1843, as Published in the Sangamo Journal [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Trial Report, 5–19 January 1843, as Published in Reports [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Thomas Ford, Order, 6 January 1843 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault] Transcript of Proceedings, 6 January 1843 [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault]

Petition to the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois, 31 December 1842, William Clayton Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault]

Source Note

JS, Petition, [, Sangamon Co., IL], to the Circuit Court for the District of , [31 Dec. 1842], Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault (United States Circuit Court for the District of IL 1843). Featured version copied [6 Jan. 1843] in Transcript of Proceedings, [1]–[2]; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. Includes notation.
Single leaf, measuring 12⅜ × 7⅞ inches (31 × 20 cm) and ruled with thirty-nine horizontal lines. The leaf was folded in half twice. This leaf has the same dimensions as the leaves on which fourteen other documents related to JS’s second extradition hearing were copied; small holes at the top of the leaf indicate where it was attached to the other copies.
On 6 January 1843, made this copy of the document for JS in the presence of circuit court clerk . A circa 1904 Church Historian’s Office (later Church Historical Department) inventory lists “Joseph smith before the distric court,” likely referring to the assembled copies of second extradition documents. By 1973 the document had been included in the JS Collection at the Church Historical Department (now CHL). Its likely inclusion in the circa 1904 inventory and its inclusion in the JS Collection by 1973 suggest continuous institutional custody.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    The collection of copies contains a prefatory note, bearing the remnants of a wax seal, that United States circuit court clerk James F. Owings wrote certifying the validity of the copies. (James F. Owings, Certificate, 6 Jan. 1843, JS Collection, CHL.)

  2. [2]

    James F. Owings, Notation, 6 Jan. 1843, JS Collection, CHL; Clayton, Journal, 6 Jan. 1843.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  3. [3]

    “Index to Papers in the Historians Office,” ca. 1904, draft, 7, Historian’s Office, Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904, CHL.

    Historian’s Office. Catalogs and Inventories, 1846–1904. CHL. CR 100 130.

  4. [4]

    See the full bibliographic entry for JS Collection, 1827–1844, in the CHL catalog.

Historical Introduction

On 31 December 1842, JS petitioned the Circuit Court for the District of in , Illinois, for a writ of in connection with his ongoing attempt to legally prevent his extradition to . The deputy sheriff of , Illinois, , took JS into custody earlier that morning in accordance with an arrest warrant that had been issued earlier that day by Illinois governor in order to comply with Missouri’s extradition requisition. Maxcy accompanied JS and his legal counsel, , to the office that Butterfield shared with his law partner, , where JS signed the petition to the court.
JS, , and then proceeded to the courthouse, where they presented the petition to , the federal judge presiding over the circuit court. Under Pope’s direction, the clerk of the court, , issued the writ of habeas corpus, specifying that sheriff would present JS before the court to determine the legality of his arrest. JS had been in custody since 26 December, when , major general, arrested him in preparation for his journey from , Illinois, to to make his legal appeal.
The original petition is no longer extant. While it is unclear who authored the petition, the circumstances surrounding its creation suggest that participated in composing it. created a copy of the petition on 6 January 1843 in cooperation with , who certified the validity of the transcription. Clayton’s copy 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.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    JS, Journal, 31 Dec. 1842; Arrest Warrant, 31 Dec. 1842; Petition to Thomas Ford, 31 Dec. 1842.

  2. [2]

    JS, Journal, 31 Dec. 1842. Butterfield and Edwards became law partners in June 1842. (“B. S. Edwards,” Sangamo Journal [Springfield, IL], Extra, 10 June 1842, [1]; “Edwards & Butterfield,” Sangamo Journal, 1 July 1842, [3].)

    Sangamo Journal. Springfield, IL. 1831–1847.

  3. [3]

    JS, Journal, 31 Dec. 1842; Clayton, Journal, 31 Dec. 1842.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

  4. [4]

    Writ of Habeas Corpus, 31 Dec. 1842.

  5. [5]

    Petition to Chauncey Robison, 26 Dec. 1842. Governor Thomas Carlin’s proclamation, issued in September 1842 at the request of Missouri governor Thomas Reynolds, allowed “any person” to apprehend JS and deliver him to authorities. Accordingly, on 26 December 1842, JS surrendered to arrest by Law. Once Maxcy took custody of JS on behalf of the state, he and Law shared custody. (Thomas Carlin, Proclamation, 20 Sept. 1842.)

  6. [6]

    James F. Owings, Notation, 6 Jan. 1843, JS Collection, CHL; Clayton, Journal, 6 Jan. 1843.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

Asterisk (*) denotes a "featured" version, which includes an introduction and annotation. Transcript of Proceedings, 6 January 1843 [ Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault ]
*Petition to the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois, 31 December 1842, William Clayton Copy [ Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault ]
Petition to the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois, 31 December 1842, Willard Richards Copy [ Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault ] History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843] “History of Joseph Smith”

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To the Honorable the Circuit Court of the for the District of
The petition of Joseph Smith respectfully sheweth that he has been arrested and is detained in custody by Sheriff of upon a Warrant issued by the of the State of upon the requisition of the of as a fugitive from justice a copy of the said Warrant and the requisition and the affidavit upon which the same was issued is hereto annexed. And your petitioner is also arrested by and by him also held and detained in custody (jointly with the said of ) upon a proclamation issued by the of the State of a copy of which proclamation is hereunto annexed.— Your Petitioner prays that a writ of may be issued by this Court directed to the said and commanding them forthwith and without delay to bring your Petitioner before this Honorable Court to abide such order and direction as the said Court may make in the premises. Your Petitioner states that he is arrested and detained as aforesaid under color of a law of the and that his arrest and detention is illegal and in violation of law, and without the authority of law, in this, that your Petitioner is not a fugitive from justice nor has he fled from the State of . [p. [1]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Petition to the United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois, 31 December 1842, William Clayton Copy [Extradition of JS for Accessory to Assault]
ID #
2728
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D11:310–312
Handwriting on This Page
  • William Clayton

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    Arrest Warrant, 31 Dec. 1842.

  2. [2]

    Thomas Reynolds, Requisition, 22 July 1842.

  3. [3]

    This is a reference to the affidavit sworn by Lilburn W. Boggs charging JS with being a fugitive from justice. (Lilburn W. Boggs, Affidavit, 20 July 1842.)

  4. [4]

    Wilson Law arrested JS on 26 December 1842 on the authority of the 20 September 1842 proclamation issued by Thomas Carlin. Carlin explained that the proclamation was issued “in conformity to an act entitled ‘An act concerning fugitives from justice.’” That law stipulated that “whenever the executive of any other state, or of any territory of the United States, shall demand of the executive of this state any person as a fugitive from justice, . . . it shall be the duty of the executive of this state to issue his warrant under the seal of the state, to apprehend the said fugitive,” and that any officer of the state authorized by the governor to execute the warrant was to “convey such fugitive to any place within this state, which the executive in his said warrant shall direct.” (Clayton, Journal, 26 Dec. 1842; Thomas Carlin, Proclamation, 20 Sept. 1842; An Act concerning Fugitives from Justice [6 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois, p. 318, sec. 1.)

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

    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.

  5. [5]

    Justin Butterfield urged JS to argue that his arrest was illegal because he could prove he was not “in the State of Missouri at the time of the commission of the said crime.” Butterfield shared this strategy with Sidney Rigdon, William Clayton, and Willard Richards prior to JS’s arrest and his journey to Springfield. (Justin Butterfield, Chicago, IL, to Sidney Rigdon, [Nauvoo, IL], 20 Oct. 1842, Sidney Rigdon, Collection, CHL; Clayton, Journal, 14 Dec. 1842.)

    Rigdon, Sidney. Collection, 1831–1858. CHL. MS 713.

    Clayton, William. Journals, 1842–1845. CHL.

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