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Plea, circa 21 May 1844 [Sympson v. JS]

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Introduction to State of Illinois v. Sympson, Sympson v. JS, and State of Illinois v. JS for Perjury Praecipe, 27 March 1844–A [Sympson v. JS] Praecipe, 27 March 1844–B [Sympson v. JS] Declaration, circa 27 March 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Summons, 28 March 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Subpoena, 28 March 1844–A [Sympson v. JS] Subpoena, 28 March 1844–B [Sympson v. JS] Plea, circa 21 May 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Docket Entry, Plea, 22 May 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Affidavit, 22 May 1844–A [Sympson v. JS] Affidavit, 22 May 1844–B [Sympson v. JS] Docket Entry, Motion and Change of Venue, 23 May 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Affidavit, 23 May 1844–A [Sympson v. JS] Affidavit, 23 May 1844–B [Sympson v. JS] Affidavit, 24 May 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Bill of Costs, 10 August 1844–A [Sympson v. JS] Bill of Costs, 10 August 1844–B [Sympson v. JS] Transcript of Proceedings, 10 August 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Docket Entry, Abatement, 27 August 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Docket Entry, circa 27 August 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Docket Entry, Abatement, circa August 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Case File Wrapper, circa October 1844 [Sympson v. JS] Docket Entry, Fee Bill, between 16 August and circa 14 November 1844 [Sympson v. JS]

Plea, circa 21 May 1844 [Sympson v. JS]

Source Note

, , and , attorneys, on behalf of JS, Plea, , IL, [ca. 21 May 1844], Sympson v. JS (Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court 1844); handwriting of and unidentified scribe (presumably Henry Stephens, , or ); signatures of Henry Stephens, , and by unidentified scribe (presumably Henry Stephens, , or ); docket by , [, IL, ca. 21 May 1844]; notation by unidentified scribe, 22 May 1844; notation by , [, McDonough Co., IL], 12 Aug. 1844; two pages; McDonough County Circuit Court Files, Illinois Regional Archives Depository vault, Archives and Special Collections, Leslie F. Malpass Library, Western Illinois University, Macomb. Includes docket and notations.
Single leaf measuring 12½ × 8 inches (32 × 20 cm). The left edge of the leaf is rough, which suggests that the leaf was hand cut from a book or larger sheet. Both sides are ruled with thirty-seven horizontal lines printed in blue ink. The leaf was folded in half twice horizontally for filing.
After its creation and filing in the Circuit Court, the document was transferred to the Circuit Court in 1844, when the court granted a change of venue. The document presumably remained in the custody of the McDonough County Circuit Court until 1996, when the McDonough County Circuit Court files were transferred to the Illinois Regional Archives Depository at Western Illinois University in , Illinois.

Footnotes

  1. Email, 4 Feb. 2022, copy in editors’ possession.

Historical Introduction

Around 21 May 1844, attorney prepared a legal plea on JS’s behalf as part of Alexander Sympson v. JS, a civil lawsuit filed during the May 1844 term of the , Illinois, circuit court. ’s dispute with JS was rooted in an incident of assault that had occurred months earlier. At about midnight on 10–11 December 1843, the home of and Hannah Nott Badham— who lived about five miles east of , Illinois—was invaded. Two men sought first by a ruse to enter the Badham home. When the ruse failed, they forced their way through the door. The intruders then demanded money and threatened to kill the Badhams if they did not comply. The Badhams gave them $4.50 as well as a gun and a watch. Just before the burglars left, one of them stabbed Richard in the abdomen with a bowie knife. The intruders’ faces were reportedly “disfigured” and “blackened,” making recognition impossible; however, Hannah believed that the voice of at least one of the men was familiar and that both men had visited the Badham home before the assault. The Badhams further claimed that one intruder was in his early to mid-twenties and the other was an “aged man.” Contrary to initial reports of Richard’s death, he recovered.
The attack on the Badhams occurred amid heightened tensions between Latter-day Saints and their antagonists in and . In November and early December 1843, vigilantes threatened violence against church members and their relatives in , going so far as to kidnap two men who were accused of committing crimes in Missouri in 1840. Municipal leaders in responded to these threats in early and mid-December 1843, with JS, acting as mayor and lieutenant general of the , mustering the city militia. The city council, including JS as mayor, also passed ordinances intended to protect the citizens of the city.
In addition, JS worked with justices of the peace to prosecute individuals accused of committing violent crimes against church members in the county who were living outside of . Around 22 December, JS filed a complaint before Justice of the Peace alleging that Nauvoo resident , who was not a Latter-day Saint, was one of the men who had burglarized the Badham home. Based on JS’s complaint, Johnson issued a warrant for Eagle and he was arrested. Along with fellow Hancock County justice of the peace , Johnson presided at a preliminary hearing held on 22 December. After reviewing “the proofs and alligations”—including testimony from the Badhams—Johnson and Foster discharged Eagle “for want of evidence.”
On 17 January 1844, JS made a complaint against another suspect in the Badham attack: , a local businessman who was not a Latter-day Saint. According to ’s docket entry for the resulting hearing, JS “had rec[ei]ved information that one Alexander Simpson was suspected of be[in]g gui[l]ty of Rob[b]ery and attemp to murd[e]r or inflict great Bodily injury on the person of one .” Johnson issued a warrant for Sympson’s arrest based on JS’s complaint, and he was detained. That day, Johnson and Foster presided jointly at a preliminary examination for Sympson. The Badhams testified that Sympson “did not resemble the man who attemp[t]ed s’d Robery and murder.” Johnson further noted that “it appeared that the s’d Simpson was not the Person that was intended by Badham to have been arrestted.” JS also testified, but Johnson did not report the content of JS’s testimony in the docket entry. At the conclusion of the hearing, Johnson and Foster discharged Sympson “for want of Evidence” and held “that no suspissin [suspicion] aught to rest upon the s’d Simpson.”
During the following months, both and JS commented on the events of 17 January 1844. Sympson wrote a letter for a newspaper in neighboring , Illinois—the Warsaw Signal—in which he claimed that following the Badhams’ exculpatory testimonies, JS admitted in his testimony that he did not believe that Sympson was the assailant and that when JS was asked why he had sworn the contrary in the complaint he responded that “he had not sworn to it; that he had signed it, but the oath was not administered to him.”
In response to ’s allegations, JS provided additional details about the events of 17 January. He reportedly gave the most extensive explanation of the situation in a discourse in on 26 May 1844. In this discourse, JS recounted that he met an unidentified Englishman who accused Sympson of committing the crimes against the Badhams. As JS was about to leave for his farm, a Nauvoo policeman who had overheard the conversation volunteered to apprehend Sympson. The police subsequently arrested Sympson, and, after JS returned and met with , the justice prepared an unsigned complaint summarizing the Englishman’s allegation. JS claimed that he refused to sign it, stating that he personally did not believe the allegations against Sympson. For his part, Johnson evidently affirmed that JS was not under oath for the complaint.
In ’s letter to the Signal, he announced his intention to have “the whole matter . . . investigated in a legal tribunal” in order to show JS “that he is not to swear what he pleases and pass with impunity.” Sympson subsequently hired lawyers Henry Stephens, , and to represent him in a civil suit against JS. The suit was filed as a common law action of “,” which was a legal remedy designed to indemnify a plaintiff for a wrong that was “not committed with force.” On 28 March 1844, the Circuit Court issued a summons for JS to appear at the court for the May 1844 term; the summons was served on 15 April.
Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, American attorneys utilized a complex system of pretrial pleading in civil suits that had developed over centuries in the common law courts of and had been adopted in its colonies. Attorneys for both parties wrote a series of pleadings, or legal documents intended “to render the facts of each party’s case plain and intelligible” and clearly define the single issue to be decided by the jury at trial. Lawyers were required to follow legal forms that were marked by archaic legal language, which is reflected in the documents produced for this case.
The first pleading was the plaintiff’s declaration, which detailed ’s cause of action in multiple counts. Sympson’s attorneys argued that JS had, under oath, “falsely and maliciously and without any reasonable or probable cause whatsoever” accused Sympson of robbing and attempting to murder . They further claimed that JS’s public remarks on the case left Sympson “greatly injured in his said good name, fame; and credit, and brought into public scandal, infamy and disgrace, with and amongst all his neighbors.” Sympson claimed $10,000 in damages. His attorneys filed the declaration with the Circuit Court on 28 March 1844.
The May 1844 term of the circuit court opened on 20 May. On JS’s behalf, one of his attorneys, , composed the defendant’s plea, a legal document that contested factual claims made in the plaintiff’s declaration. Babbitt did not identify the place of composition, although he probably wrote it in , where he had been since the previous week preparing for several suits pending against JS. Similarly, the document is undated, although Babbitt presumably wrote it around 21 May 1844, as he filed it with the court in Carthage the next day. The plea is featured here.
The plea composed, called a plea in bar, was designed to deny that the plaintiff had a cause of action. Following the legal form, Babbitt wrote the name and term of the circuit court, as well as the names of the parties to the suit. In the body of the plea, Babbitt wrote that JS denied the assertions presented in the counts of the declaration. The plea concluded with a request for a jury trial, which was signed by Babbitt, who also added the surnames of his cocounsels, and . Their actual contributions to the plea, if any, are unknown. One of ’s attorneys added a notation agreeing to a jury trial and then inscribed the surnames of Stephens, , and .
On 23 May 1844, ’s lawyers submitted an affidavit to the court asserting that their client could not receive a fair trial in and requesting a change of venue. Attorneys for both parties presented their arguments, after which Judge granted the motion and the trial was moved to , Illinois. The same day, Sympson testified before a Hancock County grand jury in support of a criminal indictment that charged JS with committing perjury on the 17 January 1844 complaint. Following JS’s death, the criminal charge was dismissed at the October 1844 term of the Hancock County Circuit Court; the civil suit was similarly dismissed by the McDonough County Circuit Court.
See also Introduction to State of Illinois v. Sympson, Sympson v. JS, and State of Illinois v. JS for Perjury.

Footnotes

  1. “Dreadful Outrage and Attempt at Murder,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 13 Dec. 1843, [2]; Clayton, Journal, 11 Dec. 1843; John M. Bernhisel, “For the Neighbor,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 20 Dec. 1843, [3].

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

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

  2. See Military Order to Wilson Law, 8 Dec. 1843; Ordinance, 8 Dec. 1843; Ordinance, 12 Dec. 1843–A; and “Part 5: December 1843.”

  3. See Historical Introduction to Complaint, 18 Dec. 1843; and Historical Introduction to State of Illinois v. Elliott–A and State of Illinois v. Elliott–B. As the mayor of Nauvoo, JS was also a justice of the peace, but his jurisdiction was restricted to the city’s boundaries. (Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840; see also Discourse, 26 May 1844.)

  4. As the complaint is apparently not extant, the evidence JS presented is unknown, though he presumably filed the complaint based on information he received as mayor and thus a conservator of the peace. (See Act to Incorporate the City of Nauvoo, 16 Dec. 1840.)

  5. Docket Entry, Nauvoo, IL, ca. 22 Dec. 1843, State of Illinois v. Eagle–B (J.P. Ct. 1843), Robinson and Johnson, Docket Book, 181; see also Historical Introduction to State of Illinois v. Eagle–B.

  6. Sympson apparently began doing business in Nauvoo by January 1843, when the Nauvoo Wasp published an advertisement for his chimney-cleaning services. In May 1843 he agreed to sell JS some land for $1,100. Sympson later reported that in January 1844, when he was lodging in the Steam-boat Hotel in Nauvoo, he was engaged in an unspecified business activity in the office of Robert D. Foster. (“No Cure No Pay,” Wasp, 7 Jan. 1842 [1843], [4]; Trustees Land Book B, 23 May 1843, 18; Clayton, Journal, 23 May 1843; Alexander Sympson, Letter to the Editor, Warsaw [IL] Signal, 25 [24] Apr. 1844, [3].)

    The Wasp. Nauvoo, IL. Apr. 1842–Apr. 1843.

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

  7. Docket Entry, Nauvoo, IL, ca. 17 Jan. 1844, State of Illinois v. Sympson (J.P. Ct. 1844), Robinson and Johnson, Docket Book, 197; see also Historical Introduction to State of Illinois v. Sympson, Sympson v. JS, and State of Illinois v. JS for Perjury.

  8. Alexander Sympson, Letter to the Editor, Warsaw [IL] Signal, 25 [24] Apr. 1844, [3].

  9. The only surviving account of the discourse was made in the 1850s, although the late account—which is featured in this volume—was apparently based on contemporaneous notes made by JS’s scribe Thomas Bullock. (Historical Introduction to Discourse, 26 May 1844.)

  10. Discourse, 26 May 1844. Illinois law did not require that a complaint be given in writing or signed, but it did obligate complainants to make their accusations under oath before a justice of the peace could issue a warrant. A justice of the peace who issued a warrant based on an unsworn complaint could be held civilly liable for the act. (An Act to Regulate the Apprehension of Offenders, and for Other Purposes [6 Jan. 1827], Public and General Statute Laws of the State of Illinois [1839], p. 238, sec. 3; Cotton, Treatise on the Powers and Duties of Justices of the Peace, 26.)

    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.

    Cotton, Henry G. A Treatise on the Powers and Duties of Justices of the Peace in the State of Illinois, with Practical Forms. Ottawa, IL: By the author, 1845.

  11. JS, Journal, 13 Apr. and 23–24 May 1844.

  12. Alexander Sympson, Letter to the Editor, Warsaw (IL) Signal, 25 [24] Apr. 1844, [3].

  13. Stephens practiced in Warsaw while Dixon and Cooley were partners in Quincy, Illinois. (“Henry Stephens, Attorney at Law,” Warsaw [IL] Message, 13 Sept. 1843, [1]; “Dixon and Cooley,” Quincy [IL] Whig, 22 May 1844, [4].)

    Warsaw Message. Warsaw, IL. 1843–1844.

    Quincy Whig. Quincy, IL. 1838–1856.

  14. Alexander Sympson, Praecipe for Subpoenas, Warsaw, IL, 27 Mar. 1844, Sympson v. JS (Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844), McDonough County Circuit Court Files, Illinois Regional Archives Depository vault, Archives and Special Collections, Leslie F. Malpass Library, Western Illinois University, Macomb; Swan, Practice in Civil Actions and Proceedings at Law, 1:17; Blackstone, Commentaries, vol. 2, bk. 3, p. 92.

    Swan, Joseph R. The Practice in Civil Actions and Proceedings at Law, in Ohio, and Precedents in Pleading, with Practical Notes; together with the Forms of Process and Clerks’ Entries. 2 vols. Columbus: Isaac N. Whiting, 1845.

    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.

  15. Jacob B. Backenstos, Summons for JS, Carthage, IL, 28 Mar. 1844, Sympson v. JS (Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844), McDonough County Circuit Court Files, Illinois Regional Archives Depository vault, Archives and Special Collections, Leslie F. Malpass Library, Western Illinois University, Macomb.

  16. “Pleading, in Practice,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:329–330; see also Friedman, History of American Law, 373–390.

    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.

    Friedman, Lawrence M. A History of American Law. 3rd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007.

  17. Alexander Sympson, Declaration, Hancock Co., IL, ca. 27 Mar. 1844, Sympson v. JS (Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844), McDonough County Circuit Court Files, Illinois Regional Archives Depository vault, Archives and Special Collections, Leslie F. Malpass Library, Western Illinois University, Macomb; see also “Declaration,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:424–426.

    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.

  18. Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court Records, 1829–1897, vol. D, p. 64, microfilm 947,496, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

    U.S. and Canada Record Collection. FHL.

  19. Stephen and Troubat, Treatise on the Principles of Pleading in Civil Actions, 64–67.

    Stephen, Henry John, and Francis J. Troubat. A Treatise on the Principles of Pleading in Civil Actions; Comprising a Summary View of the Whole Proceedings in a Suit at Law. 2nd American ed. Philadelphia: Robert H. Small, 1831.

  20. See “Part 1: 16 May–6 June 1844.” Babbitt appears to have been in Macedonia, Illinois, during the second half of April and the first part of May 1844. He was evidently in Nauvoo on 12 May, and JS may have consulted with him at that time about the suits pending before the circuit court. By 17 May, Babbitt was in Carthage, from where he wrote to JS requesting additional information on another lawsuit. (Letter from Almon Babbitt, 10 Apr. 1844; Letter from Almon Babbitt, 5 May 1844; JS, Journal, 12 May 1844; Fielding, Journal, 1843–1859, 30–31; Letter from Almon Babbitt, 17 May 1844.)

    Fielding, Joseph. Journals, 1837–1859. CHL. MS 1567.

  21. See “Plea in Bar,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:327–328.

    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.

  22. See “Defence, Pleading, Practice,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 1:331 [431]–433; and “Not Guilty,” in Bouvier, Law Dictionary, 2:224–225.

    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.

  23. Bachman and Skinner were partners who had offices in Nauvoo and Carthage. (“Bachman & Skinner,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 12 July 1843, [4].)

    Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

  24. Alexander Sympson, Affidavit, Carthage, IL, 22 May 1844, Sympson v. JS (Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844), McDonough County Circuit Court Files, Illinois Regional Archives Depository vault, Archives and Special Collections, Leslie F. Malpass Library, Western Illinois University, Macomb; Docket Entry, Motion and Change of Venue, Carthage, IL, 23 May 1844, Sympson v. JS (Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844), Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court Records, 1829–1897, vol. D, p. 115, microfilm 947,496, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.

  25. Witnesses for the indictment also included Joseph H. Jackson, John Snider, and Robert D. Foster. (JS, Journal, 23 May 1844; Indictment, Carthage, IL, ca. 23 May 1844, State of Illinois v. JS for Perjury [Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844], Hancock County Courthouse, Carthage, IL; Docket Entry, Order for Capias, Carthage, IL, 24 May 1844, State of Illinois v. JS for Perjury [Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844], Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court Records, 1829–1897, vol. D, p. 129, microfilm 947,496, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; see also Historical Introduction to State of Illinois v. Sympson, Sympson v. JS, and State of Illinois v. JS for Perjury.)

  26. Docket Entry, Abatement, Carthage, IL, 21 Oct. 1844, State of Illinois v. JS for Perjury (Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844), Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court Records, 1829–1897, vol. D, p. 166, microfilm 947,496, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL; Docket Entry, Abatement, 27 Aug. 1844, Sympson v. JS (McDonough Co. Cir. Ct. 1844), McDonough Co., IL, Circuit Court Record, vol. B, p. 336, Illinois Regional Archives Depository vault, Archives and Special Collections, Leslie F. Malpass Library, Western Illinois University, Macomb.

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Vs
Joseph Smith
Plea
 
102
filed May 22 1844
Clk
 
Filed august 12 1844
Clk [p. [2]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Plea, circa 21 May 1844 [Sympson v. JS]
ID #
5460
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Almon Babbitt
  • Unidentified
  • James M. Campbell

Footnotes

  1. Docket in the handwriting of Almon Babbitt.

  2. Filing notation in unidentified handwriting.

  3. “102” is the number assigned to the case by the court. (See Docket Entry, Motion and Change of Venue, Carthage, IL, 23 May 1844, Sympson v. JS [Hancock Co. Cir. Ct. 1844], Hancock Co., IL, Circuit Court Records, 1829–1897, vol. D, p. 115, microfilm 947,496, U.S. and Canada Record Collection, FHL.)

  4. Filing notation in the handwriting of James M. Campbell.

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