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8 Ill. 87

People v. Browne

Illinois Supreme Court

Decided December 15, 1846

Illinois Supreme Court · decided 1846-12-15

Thomas O. Browne, one of the Associate Justices of this Court, and presiding Justice in the Jo Daviess Circuit Court in the sixth Judicial Circuit. The motion was made to require him to sign and seal a bill of exceptions taken during the progress of the trial of a cause before him, wherein the Relators were plaintiffs and John H. Rountree and others were defendants, at the October term of the Jo Daviess Circuit Court, 1842.

Decided 1846-12-15

Per Curiam.

¶1The motion" for a peremptory writ of mandamus is denied. The relator took a voluntary nonsuit in the Circuit Court, and having voluntarily gone out of Court, he cannot call upon this Court to reverse a judgment, which was entered at his own solicitation, whether the Court committed errors in the proceedings of the course previous to the nonsuit or not. The rule seems to be different in states where the Court compels the plaintiff to became nonsuit whether he will or not. This Court has held, Amos v. Sinnott, 4 Scam. 447,thatthe Circuit Courts in this State, have no such authority, but that the plaintiff may, if he choose, insist upon a verdict. If the plaintiff could voluntarily take a nonsuit and still reserve the right of excepting to the decision of the Court, he would have an unfair advantage over the defendant. If he wish to assign the decisions of the Court for error, he must abide by them. The plaintiff, by taking a non-suit, has waived his exceptions, and cannot compel the judge to sign the bill.

¶2Motion denied.

¶3 Wilson, C. J. and Justice Lockwood did not sit in this case.

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