Introduction to State of Ohio v. Ritch
State of Ohio v. Ritch
Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., Ohio, Justice of the Peace Court, 14 September 1837
Historical Introduction
On 12 September 1837, JS filed a complaint against , Ohio, constable Abram Ritch alleging “unlawful oppression by .” This charge was based on an statute that provided legal recourse for citizens who were defrauded, injured, or oppressed by local government officials. The events that led to this complaint are not known, but they may be related to JS’s trips through Painesville in the summer of 1837. As JS and passed through Painesville on 27 July 1837, en route to , sheriff arrested them based on legal actions recently commenced against the two men. JS’s history later noted that he and his companions were detained “all day by malicious and vexatious Law suits” but resumed their trip to Canada the next day, returning at the end of August. Although Kimball was the arresting officer in July, it is possible that JS had some interaction with Ritch that day or when the party passed through Painesville on their return from Canada in late August.
JS filed his complaint on 12 September 1837, a few weeks after his return to , Ohio. That same day, Justice of the Peace issued a warrant for the arrest of Ritch, who was brought before him two days later. At JS’s request, ten men were subpoenaed to testify, including two prominent individuals—associate judge of the Court of Common Pleas Daniel Kerr, and postmaster . Despite the subpoena, neither Kerr nor Adams testified at the hearing. Those who did testify before Cowdery included JS, , and five other men, most of them Painesville residents. After hearing the testimony, Cowdery released Ritch due to lack of evidence to support the charge.
Calendar of Documents
This calendar lists all known documents created by or for the court, whether extant or not. It does not include versions of documents created for other purposes, though those versions may be listed in footnotes. In certain cases, especially in cases concerning unpaid debts, the originating document (promissory note, invoice, etc.) is listed here. Note that documents in the calendar are grouped with their originating court. Where a version of a document was subsequently filed with another court, that version is listed under both courts.
View entire transcript |
Cite this page
Cite this page
