Logan v. Adams

Description
Adams, as an attorney, helped Anderson recover a debt against Miller. Adams wrote an assignment of judgment from Anderson to himself and received ten acres of land in Sangamon County, Illinois. Anderson died, and his widow claimed that Adams acquired the land fraudulently. Lincoln wrote several letters under the pseudonym "Sampson's Ghost" attacking Adams for defrauding Anderson's widow out of the land. In a separate but related case, the administrator of Anderson's estate sued Adams to recover the land (Wright et al. v. Adams). Logan and Adams were "personal and political enemies." Adams published an accusation that Logan forged the assignment of judgment in order to destroy Adams's character. Logan sued Adams in an action of libel in the Sangamon County Circuit Court and requested $10,000 in damages. Adams pleaded justification. Lincoln appeared as a witness for Logan in addition to serving as his attorney. Stephen Douglas joined other Democratic attorneys in defending Adams. Adams motioned for a change of venue, and the court granted a change to the Schuyler County Circuit Court. The parties reached an agreement in which Adams stated that he never intended to charge Logan with forgery, and the court dismissed the case.

Court
Schuyler County Circuit Court