John D. Caton

John Dean Caton (March 19, 1812, Monroe, New York – July 30, 1895) was an associate justice and chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court.

Caton attended the Utica Academy in Utica, New York. After graduation, he worked as a teacher in Utica. During this period, Caton studied civil engineering and law. In 1833, Caton moved to Chicago, then a small town, and opened the first law office there with his partner, Giles Spring.

In his book, Early Bench and Bar of Illinois,[1] inspired by an 1893 speech given to the Illinois Bar Association, Judge Caton claims to have tried the first jury 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 was an attorney in 214 cases in the Illinois Supreme Court in which Caton was a justice.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Caton, John Dean (1893). Early Bench and Bar of Illinois. Chicago: Chicago Legal News Company. p. 215.
  2. ↑ "Caton, John D". Lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org. Retrieved 2012-09-07.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.