William Joshua Allen

How Judge Allen rules, drawn from 6 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Judge Allen no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

Court
United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
Position
district
Status
Deceased
Served
1888–1901
Appointed by
Grover Cleveland (Democratic)
Commissioned
1888-01-19
Education
University of Louisville Law Department, LL.B. (1848)
Signed orders read
6

How Judge Allen decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

In the distilled-spirits case, Allen refused to treat an agency regulation as creating a forfeiture where Congress had not made the omitted marking a statutory offense.

“it does not follow that a thing required by them is a thing so required by -law as to make the neglect to do the thing a criminal offense in a citizen, where a statute does not distinctly make the neglect in question a criminal offense.”

Procedural preferences

In Hitch, Allen generally measured compensable travel by the shortest practicable route while leaving room for a proven emergency to justify a longer route.

“the court does not hold that an emergency may not arise to justify the marshal in demanding and receiving his mileage by the longer route, yet no such emergency appears in this case”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

United States v. One Package of Distilled Spirits
· 1898-04-04
Demurrer to evidence (claimant) Granted

“The demurrer to the evidence is sustained”

Government forfeiture claim (United States) Denied

“the information dismissed, and the package ordered to be released to the claimant.”

Motion for certificate of probable cause (district attorney) Denied

“made a motion for a certificate of probable cause, which I have felt constrained to deny”

Hartzell v. United States
· 1897-12-24
Demurrer to petition (United States) Denied

“the demurrer must be overruled.”

In re Curtis
· 1899-01-24
Involuntary bankruptcy petition (petitioning creditors) Granted

“the petitioners are entitled to an adjudication as prayed for against the debtors.”

Hitch v. United States
· 1895-04-08
Government compensation claim after bench trial (plaintiff marshal) Granted in part

“The judgment of the court, therefore, is that the plaintiff recover the sum of $456.06 and his cost of suit.”

United States v. Boggs
· 1887-06-15
Motion in arrest of judgment (defendant) Denied

“The motion in arrest of judgment will be overruled.”

Van Hoorebeke v. United States
· 1891-01-15
Government compensation claim after bench trial (petitioner) Granted

“I am of opinion that a fair construction of the statute entitles him to judgment against the United States for $548.75. and costs.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

No assigned docket records were returned under two plausible Allen name variants.

A historical record

Judge Allen no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.