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