In force Feb.[February] 7, 1835.
AN ACT to amend the Practice Act of 1827.
1Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That in all cases where interlocutory judgment2 shall be given in any action upon a penal bond or other instrument, and the damages
rest in computation, the court may refer it to the clerk to assess and report the
damages, and may enter final judgment therefor, without a writ of enquiry, and without
empanelling a jury for that purpose. The provisions of this act shall apply to proceedings instituted
or had under the act entitled “An act simplifying proceedings at law for the collection
of debts,” approved, February 1833.3
Approved, Feb. 7, 1835.
1Stephen R. Rowan introduced HB 89 in the House of Representatives on January 8, 1835. On January 12, the House referred it to the Committee on the
Judiciary. The Committee on the Judiciary reported back the bill on January 27 with
sundry amendments, which the House referred, along with the bill, to a select committee.
The select committee reported back the bill on January 29 with sundry amendments,
in which the House concurred. The House passed the bill as amended on January 31.
On February 2, the Senate referred the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary. The Committee on the Judiciary
reported back the bill on February 3 with an amendment, in which the Senate concurred.
The Senate passed the bill as amended. The House concurred in the Senate amendment
on February 5. On February 7, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Ninth General Assembly of the State
of Illinois, at their First Session, Begun and Held in the Town of Vandalia, December
1, 1834 (Vandalia, Ill.: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835), 252, 275, 395-396, 425, 462, 497, 498; Journal of the Senate, of the Ninth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at
their First Session, Begun and Held in the Town of Vandalia, December 1, 1834 (Vandalia, Ill.: J. W. Sawyer, 1835), 395, 396-397,413, 447, 453, 455, 461; Journal of the House of Representatives of the Ninth General Assembly of the State
of Illinois, at their Second Session, Begun and Held in Pursuance of the Proclamation
of the Governor, in the Town of Vandalia, December 7, 1835 (Vandalia, Ill.: J. Y. Sawyer, 1835), 386, 397, 410.
2An interlocutory judgment was an intermediate, or temporary, decision, awaiting some
further action. In debt cases, an interlocutory decision served as a judgment against
one party, but only after the assessment of damages to the aggrieved party would the
court enter a final judgment in the case.
John Bouvier, A Law Dictionary Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America, 7th ed., 2 vols. (Philadelphia: Childs & Peterson, 1857), 1:659.
3Neither of the existing acts for which this act was an amendment allowed the clerk
to assess damages. Giving authority to the clerk in this regard would streamline the
legal process in simple debt cases by saving time and reducing costs.
“ An Act concerning Practice in Courts of Law,” 29 January 1827, The Revised Code of Laws, of Illinois (1827), 310; “An Act, Simplifying Proceedings at Law for the Collection of Debts,”
25 February 1833, The Revised Laws of Illinois (1833), 497-99.
Printed Document, 1 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at their First Session (Vandalia, IL:
J. Y. Sawyer, 1835), 152, GA Session: 9-1