In the Illinois Supreme Court, Lincoln, Jackson Grimshaw, and Orville Hickman Browning file an answer for defendant and Illinois Secretary of State Ozias M. Hatch in the case of People ex rel. Lanphier & Walker v. Hatch. In 1857, the Illinois General Assembly passed a bill to create senatorial and representative districts and to apportion the representation to the General Assembly. Republican Governor Bissell inadvertently signed the bill, and his private secretary reported to the House of Representatives that the Governor had approved the bill. Governor Bissell realized his mistake, scratched out his name, and vetoed the bill. The Democrats wanted to test the validity of Bissell's striking his signature after the secretary had announced the passage of the bill. The People, on the relation of Lanphier and Walker, public printers for the state, sued Hatch, the Secretary of State and record-keeper of the laws, in the Illinois Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to compel him to furnish a true copy of the apportionment bill for printing. Order, 26 January 1858, People ex rel. Lanphier & Walker v. Hatch, Journal Record SC 2nd GD 1855-1864 [CGD], 131; Opinion, January 1858 Term, People ex rel. Lanphier & Walker v. Hatch, Journal & Opinion Record SC CGD 1855-1861, 197-202, both in Illinois Supreme Court, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL.