Clark v. Hatfield

Illinois Supreme Court

Decided January 15, 1878

Illinois Supreme Court · decided 1878-01-15

<p>Appeal from the Circuit Court of Menard county; the Hon. Lyman Lacey, Judge, presiding.</p>

Relies on Rundell v. Butler · Jarvis v. Hatheway

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1878-01-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently September 1967

3 state decisions

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Mr. Justice Sheldon

¶1delivered the opinion of the Court:

¶2This ivas an action for slander, wherein a verdict and judgment Avere rendered for the defendant. •

¶3The only reason urged for a reversal of the judgment is, that the verdict is against the evidence.

¶4The general rule is, that in penal actions, and in actions for a libel or defamation, and other actions vindictive in their nature, a hbav trial will not be granted merely because the verdict is against the Aveight of evidence. Jarvis v. Hathaway, 3 Johns. 180; Rundell v. Butler, 10 Wend. 119; Townshend on Slander, 494-5, 2d ed.

¶5The case before us Aras not one of an aggravated character, and Ave see no cause why the general rule should not be applied.

¶6The judgment will be affirmed.

¶7Judgment affirmed.