If you've done research in Indiana's Court of Common Pleas records, you may have come across a reference to another court in the county: the Court of Conciliation.
The Indiana legislature passed "An act to establish
Courts of Conciliation" on June 11, 1852, to go into effect on January 1,
1853. It called for the judge of each county's Court of Common Pleas to preside
over a Court of Conciliation, to be held concurrently with the Court of Common
Pleas. These courts of conciliation could hear cases about libel, slander,
malicious persecution, assault & battery, or false imprisonment.
Unlike the Circuit Court and the Court of Common Pleas, the two
parties who came before the Court of Conciliation could not be represented by
an attorney. Parties were to appear on their own behalf. The only exceptions to
this rule were if a party was under the age of 21 (in which case they had to be
represented by their guardian) or was a woman (in which case she had to be
represented by her husband or male friend). And in contrast to the other county
courts, the decision of the Court of Conciliation could not be appealed – it
was final.
The focus of the Court of Conciliation was also different
from the Circuit Court and Court of Common Pleas. Rather than determining
fault, the purpose was to get the two parties to reconcile their differences or
effect a compromise. If the judge was successful in this, he would receive a $5
fee, which was to be paid equally by the two parties.
One example of a Court of Conciliation case occurred in
Dearborn County in 1854, when Nancy Woolford sued Milton Beach for slander for
words said by his wife. The compromise was that the wife denied saying the
words, but her husband agreed to pay Woolford $75.80 in damages and court
costs. Beach later unsuccessfully appealed to the state Supreme Court to void
this agreement.
Courts of Conciliation existed in Indiana counties from
January 1, 1853 until November 30, 1865, when the law was repealed.
This article originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of "Indiana News," IGS' free monthly email newsletter.
Click here to subscribe and stay up-to-date with Indiana genealogy research tips and news.
