William B. Mitchell
Encyclopedia
William Mitchell was a distinguished American lawyer
and judge
from Minnesota
. He was the namesake of William Mitchell College of Law
and father of William DeWitt Mitchell, U.S. Attorney General during the Hoover Administration.
, Canada
near Niagara Falls
, New York
. He attended Jefferson College in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania
and graduated in 1853. In school, he befriended Eugene Wilson, a native of Morgantown
, in present-day West Virginia
. Wilson convinced Mitchell to return with him and study law under Wilson's father after graduation. Four years later, they completed their schooling and were admitted to the Virginia Bar. Instead of remaining in Virginia, however, the two headed west, settling in the city of Winona
, then in the Territory of Minnesota. Over the next seventeen years, Mitchell served as a city council member, bank president, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
, and head of a newly incorporated railroad company. The latter position served him well in his judicial tenure, as the rapidly expanding borders of the United States brought accompanying changes in its corporate and commercial laws.
. In his eighteen years on the court, he wrote more than 1,500 opinions, making huge contributions to the state's jurisprudence on issues such as negligence, state constitutional law and the common law of riparian rights and navigable waters. At one point, President Benjamin Harrison
nominated Mitchell for an open seat on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, but he eventually withdrew from consideration. Mitchell won bipartisan support in the judicial elections of 1886 and 1892, but failed to win the Republican Party's nomination in 1898 and left the supreme court the following year. After it was incorporated into the U.S. as a protectorate, Mitchell was offered the position of Chief Justice of Puerto Rico
. He turned it down. Instead, he was selected as the first Dean of the law school that would bear his name, William Mitchell College of Law
(then the St. Paul College of Law), but he died from a stroke before taking the position.
wrote:
Mitchell was also included in the two-volume Great American Judges, a biographical compendium of the one hundred greatest state and federal judges in American history.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
from Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. He was the namesake of William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law, or WMCL, is a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accredited by the American Bar Association , it offers full and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor degree....
and father of William DeWitt Mitchell, U.S. Attorney General during the Hoover Administration.
Early life
Mitchell was born to Scottish immigrants in OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
near Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He attended Jefferson College in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and graduated in 1853. In school, he befriended Eugene Wilson, a native of Morgantown
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
, in present-day West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. Wilson convinced Mitchell to return with him and study law under Wilson's father after graduation. Four years later, they completed their schooling and were admitted to the Virginia Bar. Instead of remaining in Virginia, however, the two headed west, settling in the city of Winona
Winona
- Places :United States* Winona, Arizona* Winona, California, former name of Squeaky Springs, California* Winona Lake, Indiana* Winona, Kansas* Winona, Michigan* Winona County, Minnesota** Winona, Minnesota, the county seat of Winona County...
, then in the Territory of Minnesota. Over the next seventeen years, Mitchell served as a city council member, bank president, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
, and head of a newly incorporated railroad company. The latter position served him well in his judicial tenure, as the rapidly expanding borders of the United States brought accompanying changes in its corporate and commercial laws.
Judicial career
In 1874, Mitchell was appointed to a judgeship in Minnesota's Third Judicial District. In 1881, he was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme CourtMinnesota Supreme Court
The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota and consists of seven members. The court was first assembled as a three-judge panel in 1849 when Minnesota was still a territory. The first members were lawyers from outside of the region who were appointed by...
. In his eighteen years on the court, he wrote more than 1,500 opinions, making huge contributions to the state's jurisprudence on issues such as negligence, state constitutional law and the common law of riparian rights and navigable waters. At one point, President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
nominated Mitchell for an open seat on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, but he eventually withdrew from consideration. Mitchell won bipartisan support in the judicial elections of 1886 and 1892, but failed to win the Republican Party's nomination in 1898 and left the supreme court the following year. After it was incorporated into the U.S. as a protectorate, Mitchell was offered the position of Chief Justice of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. He turned it down. Instead, he was selected as the first Dean of the law school that would bear his name, William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law, or WMCL, is a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accredited by the American Bar Association , it offers full and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor degree....
(then the St. Paul College of Law), but he died from a stroke before taking the position.
Reputation
Mitchell enjoyed a reputation as a great jurist in his day. He was well regarded in Minnesota and the country. In a letter to a friend in Minnesota, renowned Harvard Law Professor James Bradley ThayerJames Bradley Thayer
James Bradley Thayer American legal writer and educationist.Born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, he graduated at Harvard College in 1852, and at the Harvard Law School in 1856, in which year he was admitted to the bar of Suffolk County and began to practice in Boston...
wrote:
I have long recognized Judge Mitchell as one of the best judges in this country, and have come to know also the opinion held of him by lawyers competent to pass on an opinion on such a question . . . Pray do not allow your state to lose the services of such a man. To keep him on the bench is a service not merely to Minnesota, but to the whole country and to the law. Your state it is that is now on trial before the country. The question is: Can Minnesota appreciate such a man? Is it worthy to have him? I am not going to believe that a state which can command the services of one of the few judges in the country that stand out among their fellows as pre-eminent, that give it distinction, will refuse to accept these services.
Mitchell was also included in the two-volume Great American Judges, a biographical compendium of the one hundred greatest state and federal judges in American history.