John Dean Caton (March 19, 1812,
Monroe, New YorkJuly 30, 1895) was an
associate justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...
and
chief justice of the
Illinois Supreme Court.
Caton attended the Utica Academy in
Utica, New York
Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the ...
. After graduation, he worked as a teacher in Utica. During this period, Caton studied
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
and
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
. In 1833, Caton moved to Chicago, then a small town, and opened the first
law office
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...
there with his partner, Giles Spring.
In his book, ''Early Bench and Bar of Illinois'', inspired by an 1893 speech given to the
Illinois Bar Association, Judge Caton claims to have tried the first
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.
Juries developed in England du ...
case in a
court of record in Cook County, Illinois. He recounts his experiences riding the circuit in the early days of Illinois statehood, and his later appointment to the Illinois Supreme Court, a period of some sixty years. He relates a number of humorous anecdotes about his days as a
circuit rider.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
was an attorney in 214 cases in the Illinois Supreme Court in which Caton was a justice.
References
1812 births
1895 deaths
Chief Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court
19th-century American judges
Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court
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