The story behind this tangle of cases began back in 1811, when Perly Wallis, one of the first men to practice law at the Arkansas Post, accused William Morrison to the grand jury. The grand jury had assembled at the Post to consider indictments and other business of the Court of Quarter Sessions. (For more information about the grand jury see Grand Jury Writ of Venire for December 1811.)

At that session of court, Perly Wallis, who had been appointed deputy Attorney General, or the equivalent of an assistant U.S. attorney today, appeared before the grand jury as a victim-prosecutor, and accused William Morrison of three crimes: stealing one hundred bushels of corn from a crib on Wallis's plantation on the Little Bayou Meto; stealing a yoke of oxen from the range adjoining the plantation; and threatening to shoot and kill Wallis with his “riffle,”shedding his “hearts blood” if Wallis took the oxen from Morrison. Wallis alleged that these crimes took place in April 1811.

The grand jury considered Wallis's charges truthful enough to find a true bill against Morrison on December 3, who entered a plea of not guilty. (In his pleadings transcribed here, Morrison included a copy of the grand jury's indictment.) Twelve petit jurors were assembled and a trial took place on December 4. The jury, on which Joseph Stillwell served as foreman, found Morrison not guilty of the counts of theft, but guilty of threatening Perly Wallis, and Morrison was fined ten dollars.

The following October, before the next term of the Court of Common Pleas, the civil arm of the territorial court, William Morrison and his attorney Anthony Haden appeared suing Perly Wallis for trespass on the case for malicious prosecution and seeking damages of $3,000. Judge Francois Vaugine ordered Robert Hughes, who was substituting for Clerk Patrick Cassidy, to issue a capias writ, ordering Sheriff Daniel Mooney to seize Wallis and hold him in prison unless he could make a bail bond. Judge Henry Cassidy approved the setting of bail at $1,000. Mooney seized Wallis (“cepi corpus,” I seized the body) and Wallis executed bond for $1,000 on November 4. James Scull (another of the Common Pleas judges) served as security and Hewes Scull witnessed the bond.

Court was due to convene on the fifth Monday of November, but it did not meet because the District of Arkansas no longer existed, it having been merged into the District of New Madrid. Nonetheless, John Miller, attorney for Perly Wallis, filed his plea of December 1, responding that Judge Vaugine had no power to issue a capias writ in November, since his judicial commission had expired the previous August. Also on that day, Miller demanded oyer (literally “to hear”) of the capias writ in question, so that it would be read aloud in open court.

During the two years that no court of record met at the Arkansas Post, there is a record of a case titled Wallis v. Morrison at the court in St. Louis-at this time the outcome is not known. The date available for this case is 1812. The next year, Wallis later alleged, during November of 1813, William Morrison and Robert Clary stole a slave named Jenny (her name also appears as “Ginny.” Her age was estimated at 35 and her value, $350.00.). Jenny was at the plantation of Perly Wallis, where apparently Morrison and Clary took her “out of the house and out of the yard.” She was in the care of Horace Wallis at the time, but apparently her actual owner was George Hook. Jenny was also the subject of litigation between Perly Wallis and Samuel Carter, which was also heard by the court at St. Louis.

At the next session of a court of record at the Post—the General Court under Judge George Bullitt in October of 1814—the record book is full of Perly Wallis and William Morrison. The original suit of Morrison v. Wallis ended in a “nonsuit” and Morrison was ordered to reimburse Wallis for costs. To pay, several hundred acres of Morrison's land were sold by Sheriff Mooney to Hewes Scull and Benjamin Ross. There may or may not have been a suit by Wallis against Morrison-the record book is not clear. Morrison instigated another suit against Perly and Horace Wallis and William McClary, probably connected with the dispute over Jenny. Morrison tried unsuccessfully to get the grand jury to indict Perly Wallis for larceny, but Wallis did influence the same men to issue an indictment against Morrison for stealing Jenny.

At the April 1815 term of the court, Morrison stood trial. He was found innocent. His case against the Wallises and McClary was tried. Morrison won but apparently his victory was largely symbolic because his damages were only $.25.

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