Abraham Lincoln displayed deft touch in defamation cases

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted January 20, 2023 9:50 AM

Updated January 20, 2023 1:36 PM

Reading about Darrion O. Foote’s defamation claim against a Winnebago County correctional officer who allegedly proclaimed “Foote is in jail for molesting kids” within earshot of other prisoners, my thoughts turned to a surprising aspect of Abraham Lincoln’s law practice: The self-taught circuit-riding prairie lawyer handled 68 slander cases (half plaintiff, half defendant).My source on this aspect of Lincoln’s law practice is Professor Mark E. Steiner’s article, “The Lawyer as Peacemaker: Law and Community in Abraham …

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