By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — The Illinois Supreme court heard oral arguments at the 5th District Appellate Courthouse for the first time in 111 years, and the first of a series of Lincoln panel presentations moderated by former governor Jim Edgar to be held throughout the state were held on Wednesday.

The panel discussion, Lincoln — the Prairie Lawyer, was presented as part of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial celebration sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association in partnership with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, The Papers of Abraham Lincoln and the Illinois Channel.

Presenter John A. Lupton, the associate editor for The Papers of Abraham Lincoln project, spoke about looking for Lincoln in Mt. Vernon. Lupton declared that as part of the research from Lincoln’s personal writings, documents provided by appellate courthouse historian Jack Flood and other documentation, the question of whether Lincoln actually was in Mt. Vernon will now reflect the affirmative.

Lupton said there is a story about a 12-year-old boy who claimed to sit on Lincoln’s lap during a train ride from Ashley to Mt. Vernon and that Lincoln kept the other passengers laughing during the trip.

“The best evidence is from 1859, in correspondence to attorney Michael Dale,” Lupton said. Dale requested Lincoln’s help with a case, and “Lincoln said he expected to be in Mt. Vernon to interview witnesses on the 21st of November.”

In addition, Lupton said two subpoenas issued by the clerk in the courthouse at Mt. Vernon collaborates the letter, in that the witnesses were to be in court on Nov. 22, 1859.

“It is reasonable to expect that Lincoln would arrive in town on the 21st to interview witnesses and argue the case on the 22nd,” Lupton said. “It’s expected that Lincoln took the late train from Springfield to Decatur, spent the night, then arrived in Richview on the 4:15 p.m. train, then road by stagecoach to Mt. Vernon.”

Edgar, who moderated the panel, said he has always been a “fan” of Lincoln and quoted the president, saying, “We cannot escape history.”

“Today, we’re not going to escape, but enjoy history and learn more about a great man,” Edgar said. The former governor, who is from Charleston, a homeplace of Lincoln, said when he was governor, he changed his address to the governor’s mansion so he could say he voted in Lincoln’s precinct.

“As we think about Lincoln, how was he able to be such a good president,” Edgar asked. “He certainly wasn’t a perfect individual, ... but he was nearly a perfect president.”

Edgar also said Lincoln faced several challenges as president — even before the Civil War started.

“He had a cabinet who all thought they should be the president,” Edgar said. “He had a wife who was trying to spend him into bankruptcy, and two sons ... the least of his problems was the Confederacy.”

Edgar theorized that not only Lincoln’s encouragement at an early age to pursue education, but Lincoln’s background as a lawyer, played a part of his success as a president.

“He had the ability to recognize other points of view, “ Edgar said. “He had that ability because he was a lawyer.”

Daniel W. Stowell, editor of the Lincoln Papers project, spoke of Lincoln as a lawyer, and told of the ethics and advice Lincoln gave to others in his writings.

“Resolve to be honest in all events,” Lincoln advised. “If you can’t practice law and be honest, be honest and don’t practice law.” Lincoln expressed that all Americans should revere the rule of law, and that a law student should work hard and a lawyer must continue to study. Lincoln also wrote that lawyers should “discourage litigation and encourage neighbors to compromise.”

The Lincoln panel concluded in the morning, and in the afternoon, the Illinois Supreme Court appeared in session to hear oral arguments in two cases, both from the 3rd Appellate Court District: The People of the State of Illinois appellee, vs. Lavar Bridgewater and The People of the State of Illinois, appellee, vs. Martez Harris.

The last time the Illinois Supreme Court was in session in the building was in 1897. In 1849, the state constitution set up one Supreme Court divided into three “grand divisions” and Mt. Vernon was designated as the site for the first grand division. The courthouse was built on property donated by city founder Zadok Casey and completed in 1857. In 1877, the appellate court districts were formed, and the 4th Appellate Court District was placed in the same building as the first grand division of the Illinois Supreme Court. After the Supreme Court was consolidated under one roof in Springfield, an amendment to the state constitution in 1870 changed the 4th Appellate District to the 5th Appellate District.

On Wednesday, the two courts once again shared the historic building, as part of the commemoration of the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, and as part of the dedication ceremonies for a statue of Lincoln that has been placed on the lawn of the courthouse.