Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, June 1, 1839.

AN ACT to amend the several laws in relation to appeal bonds and the trial of appeals.
1
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the condition of appeal bonds, executed upon the taking appeals from judgments of justices of the peace to the circuit court, shall be, that the appellant will pay and satisfy whatever judgment may be rendered by the circuit court upon the dismissal or trial of the appeal.

Right of appeal.

Sec. 2. One or more plaintiffs, or defendants, in causes decided by justices of the peace, shall be allowed the right of appeal to the circuit court, without the consent of the others; and when one of the several appeals, the supercedeas shall issue directing a suspension of all further proceedings upon the judgment, as though all had joined in the appeal.

Appeal bond.
Judgment .

Sec. 3. When an appeal bond shall be executed by one of several parties to a judgment of a justice of the peace, the clerk of the circuit court shall issue a summons against the other parties, notifying them of the appeal in the said circuit court, and requiring them to appear and abide by and perform the judgment of the court in the premises; which summons shall be served as other process issued in appeal cases; and in case such summons shall be returned that parties are not found, the cause shall, at the first term of the court, be continued, but, at the second term, shall be tried; and the court shall have power to give the same judgment in appeals taken under the provisions of this act as though all the parties to the judgment had joined in the appeal.

Suits, when dismissed

Sec. 4. Upon the trial of all appeal cases before the circuit court, no exception shall be taken to the form or service of the summons issued by the justice of the peace, or to any proceedings before him; but the court shall try the cause upon its merits, and, in all cases of appeals from a justice of the peace, shall2 give judgment according to the rights of the parties, unless it shall appear, from the evidence, that the justice had no jurisdiction of the subject matter of the suit; in which case the suit shall be dismissed at the cost of the plaintiff. This act shall take effect on the first day of June next.

Approved, March 2, 1839.

1On December 13, 1838, William Thomas introduced SB 10 in the Senate. On December 20, following the addition of language to section 4, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 27 yeas to 10 nays, and referred it to the House. On February 15, following the addition of sundry amendments by a select committee, the House passed the bill, and referred it back to the Senate. On February 19, the Senate rejected the House amendments. On February 28, the House requested the formation of a conference committee to resolve the differences between the two chambers. On March 2, the Senate agreed to form the conference committee. On the same day, the House agreed to recede from its amendments. The Council of Revision then approved the bill, and the act became law.
Journal of the House of Representatives, at the First Session of the Tenth General Assembly, of the State of Illinois (Vandalia, IL: William Waters, 1836), 138, 143, 399, 414, 454, 560, 584, 586; Journal of the Senate, at the First Session of the Tenth General Assembly, of the State of Illinois (Vandalia, IL: William Waters, 1836), 41, 74, 96, 104-105, 339-340, 354, 468, 471, 487-88, 494, 496, 510, 512.

2the language starting with “in all cases...” and ending with “...of the peace, shall,” was added by the Senate on December 20, 1838. Senate Journal, 96.