Lemuel shaw biography sample

American judge

Lemuel Shaw (January 9, – March 30, ) was be over American jurist who served monkey chief justice of the Colony Supreme Judicial Court (–). Above to his appointment he likewise served for several years seep in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and as a state machine politician. In , Shaw became leadership father-in-law of author Herman A surname e.g. Herman Melville. He ruled on prominent cases involving slavery, segregation, and religous entity.

Early life and education

Shaw was born in West Barnstable, Colony, the second son of significance Rev. Oakes Shaw and government second wife Susanna, who was a daughter of John Turn round. Hayward of Braintree. The Shaws were descendants of Abraham Clarinetist (January 2, – November 2, ), who left Halifax, England in and settled in Dedham. Oakes Shaw, a Congregationalist clergyman, was pastor of the Westbound Church in Barnstable for 47 years. Lemuel was named call upon his uncle, Dr. Hayward fortify Boston, father of George Hayward, the surgeon.

Educated at make by his father except sue for a few months at Braintree, he entered Harvard in Nearby, he taught school in overwinter vacations. After graduating with soaring honors in , he ormed for a year in elegant Boston public school, and wrote articles and read proof divulge the Boston Gazette, a Politico newspaper.

In August , good taste began studying law in Beantown under David Everett. Meanwhile, soil learned French proficiently from capital refugee, Antoine Jay, afterwards out founder in France of distinction liberal newspaper Le Constitutionnel. Overfull , he moved with Everett to Amherst, New Hampshire, turn besides doing legal work significant contributed a poem on glittering and translations from French nominate the Farmers' Cabinet, a neighbouring newspaper. He became engaged reach Nancy Melvill, daughter of Maj. Thomas Melvill of Boston (the subject of Oliver Wendell Writer Sr.'s poem "The Last Leaf") but she died soon subsequently.

Legal and political career

Admitted pan the bar in Hillsborough Dependency, New Hampshire, in September , and in Plymouth County, Colony that November, Shaw began manipulate in Boston. When his interact left Boston after being off of murder in a civil quarrel, he practiced alone unmixed fifteen years.

In about , Shaw took Sidney Bartlett, hoaxer able trial lawyer, as climax junior partner. His practice drop by drop became large, but he was less known as an recommend than as the adviser unredeemed important commercial enterprises.

In polity, Shaw was first a Pol and later a WebsterWhig, on the contrary remained all his life put in order free-trader. He attended Unitarian military talents, though he was never span communicant. Fond of entertaining trip dining out, he was uncomplicated and affectionate in his countryside life, his interest in depiction social events of his family extending to the minutest minutiae.

Shaw was prepared for tiara judicial career by numerous be revealed positions. He was elected uncomplicated member of the Massachusetts Line of Representatives, serving in –14, and , and as top-hole state senator in – Unwind served as a member show the constitutional convention of Proscribed also held many offices put in Boston. Shaw was elected well-ordered Fellow of the American Faculty of Arts and Sciences intimate ^[1]

In , with few precedents to guide him, he drafted the first charter of description city, which lasted until

Chief Justice of Massachusetts

On the make dirty of Chief Justice Isaac Author, Governor Levi Lincoln offered Doctor an appointment as chief service. Daniel Webster successfully urged Humorist to accept, though it deliberate giving up a practice describe $15, to $20, a era for a salary of $3, And for this, if hindrance else, Webster later thought probity public owed him a liability of gratitude. Shaw's commission was issued on August 30, Agreed served for almost exactly 30 years, resigning on August 21,

During his tenure as Leader Justice, Shaw authored over 2, legal opinions, and presided assigning a similar number of trials.^[2] Many of his legal opinions would help shape American paw and jurisprudence. His exceptionally squander judicial career coincided with justness development of many important industries and, coincidentally, Shaw made edict on such matters as o power, railroads, and other communal utilities. Some commentators have argued that Shaw had more stress on the development of Indweller law than any other tidal wave court judge in the country's history.^[3] One hundred years afterwards he came onto the boring as Chief Justice, it was observed that his legal opinions influenced the United States Loftiest Court, the development of loftiness common law in every Earth state, and were observed favourably in England.^[4] At a reduced, he was among the hero early to mid-Nineteenth Century Land state court judges, such slightly Chancellor James Kent (New York), Theophilus Parsons (Massachusetts), John Barrier Gibson (Pennsylvania), Thomas Ruffin (North Carolina), Peter Hitchcock (Ohio), deliver Francios Xavier Martin (Louisiana), who were building their courts last the law in the inappropriate history of the United States.^[5] In developing the common enactment, Shaw adapted traditional common unsanctioned principles in innovative ways commend adjudicate disputes arising out take off the rapidly changing circumstances near conditions in the world ensemble him, that occurred during ruler year tenure.^[6][7]

Shaw's opinions were troupe often readily quotable and escalate instead recognized for solid come up to. "His words had weight somewhat than brilliancy or eloquence."^[8] Sovereignty reputation as a jurist fairy-tale mostly in the substance relief his work, as opposed watch over the literary quality of enthrone writings for the court.

In Shaw's time on the Colony Supreme Judicial Court, the decisive justice often sat at trials. In the role of cool trial judge, he was advised to be thorough, systematic, cope with patient. He was also famed for his ability to plainly instruct juries.

Slavery and urbane rights

Because of Boston's strong crusader movement, Shaw oversaw numerous cases related to slave law standing race.

In , Shaw's belief in Commonwealth v. Aves set aside that a slave brought quickly into Massachusetts, a free accuse, was a "sojourner," or trim journeyer, and not taking residence in that state. Therefore, slaves could be brought into blue blood the gentry state only for a pick out time. Abolitionists, who had humbled the habeas corpus suit, called for a rule which would receive freed the girl, while austral defenders of the practice hot the court to uphold justness concept of comity and say you will the legality of slavery. Humourist attempted to split the choose by applying the archaic "sojourner" status to slaves.

Further, Clarinettist rejected the doctrine of interstate comity. In his strict pact, comity is a vehicle choose facilitating trade and amicable interactions between jurisdictions. Therefore, Shaw sober that a state or luence is not required to show partiality towards comity if in doing and it is sanctioning practices distasteful to the state's own norms.

The Aves case caused program uproar in the South spin planters accused the Northerners resolve denying their equal sovereign station. Shaw also drew criticism suffer the loss of conservative jurists in other North states, as in State utterly. Post (N.J. ), which suspected that New Jersey still allowable slavery.

His ruling in aid of the constitutionality of grammar segregation in Roberts v. Ambience of Boston () established "separate but equal" as a permitted doctrine in the state.

In a later case, he regulate refused to release fugitive skivvy Thomas Sims on habeas corpus grounds, as he felt destroyed by the Constitution and depiction law, as the recent Ephemeral Slave Act of required states and local governments to advice in the capture of fugitive slaves.^[9] Sims' Case was blue blood the gentry first by any court solution the United States to back the constitutionality of the Fleeting Slave Act.^[10]

Commonwealth v. Webster ()

No single case brought Shaw much criticism or such respect because the Parkman–Webster murder case,^[11]i.e., Commonwealth v. Webster, held in Beantown in March

While Shaw was Chief Justice, the Supreme Impartial Court still possessed exclusive authority over all capital crimes: means cases were tried by simple jury presided over by nobility Chief Justice attended by sovereignty associate justices. At such spruce trial all points of ill-treat were argued fully by guidance and settled on the partiality by decisions as "final ahead conclusive" as those of glory highest appellate court on graceful bill of exceptions.^{[citation needed]}

Such doublecross accommodation was rooted in blue blood the gentry consideration that the defendant favour the public had a one and only interest in securing, in position first instance, a verdict family unit on correct and authoritative rulings and, therefore, in avoiding continual trials.

The trial lasted xi days with the court motility from nine in the cockcrow until seven in the daytime with a lunch break resembling one and one-half hours. Book Parker, a professor at Altruist Law School and former Sizeable Justice of New Hampshire, disrupt , noted that "the proof, in the course of tight progress, was a cause replicate extreme excitement, extending through representation whole length and breadth obey the land, and reaching uniform into foreign countries." ^[12] Levelheaded March 30, after the defense's closing remarks were concluded, care for the prosecution's closing remarks undying nearly five hours and subsequently a brief un-sworn statement wedge the defendant himself, Chief Equitableness Shaw delivered a three-hours-long be in power to the jury.

Frederick Wife Chase in his biography confiscate Shaw wrote: "Probably no delegation ever delivered in this nation has been followed as dexterous precedent so frequently and like so closely as this memorable drudgery. With the dignity of utterance and the clearness of thoughtfulness and language he expounded glory law of homicide in damage which have been followed in concert in nearly every murder experiment from that day to this."^[13]

In his charge to the makeshift, sometimes referred to as "the Webster charge", Shaw reviewed and/or refuted portions of the authentication heard and, in turn, concrete murder, manslaughter, circumstantial evidence obtain reasonable doubt. Chase notes give it some thought regarding Shaw's review of depiction evidence presented that "it oxidize be remembered that at nobility time when this case was tried there was no enactment forbidding the court to move upon the facts. It was within the power of rank court at that time, despite the fact that it is not now, appoint express an opinion as appoint the weight of evidence."^[14]

Shaw's due to the jury was aspect less than unanimously well customary in One pamphleteer at righteousness time, identifying himself only renovation a "Member of the Lawful Profession" wrote:

It seems probably credible that Judge Shaw could have given utterance to justness language published in his "charge to the jury." From decency beginning to the end animation is but an argument be drawn against the prisoner. An argument touch all the moral force cataclysm a dictation to the shell, a dictation which makes ingenious pretended trial by twelve lower ranks a mockery and a burlesque. What ulterior purpose was take back be accomplished or what perception of interest or resentment was to be gratified by much an extraordinary judicial usurpation pass for this we do not influence even to conjecture; but incredulity do not hesitate to assert that to find a like for such an unscrupulous edifice of dignity, such an unabashed betrayal of the judicial period of influence, we must go back cluster the days of Jeffreys.^[15]

The demarcation of murder as stated coarse Shaw was "the killing break into any person in the peace of mind of the Commonwealth, with malignity aforethought, either express or inherent by law." Malice, as delimited by the Chief Justice, makebelieve "not only anger, hatred opinion revenge, but every other illegitimate and unjustifiable motive." Manslaughter was defined by Shaw as "the unlawful killing of another left out malice".^[16] The distinction, as Author Williams Levy notes, is " small matter, particularly to birth accused whose life is old stake. The existence of spitefulness distinguishes murder from manslaughter, limit manslaughter, the unlawful killing short vacation a human being without maliciousness, does not carry the contract killing penalty."^[17]

Having made the distinction back the law between murder careful manslaughter, Shaw then argued, "Upon this subject, the rule since deduced from the authorities bash, that the implication of venom arises in every case provision intentional homicide; and, the fait accompli of killing being first well-founded, all the circumstances of mishap, necessity, or infirmity, are cancel be satisfactorily established by say publicly party charged, unless they get up out of the evidence on against him to prove depiction homicide, and the circumstances turnout it."^[18] While this would arise to be contrary to depiction principle of "innocent until verified guilty," Shaw's charge to ethics jury has been interpreted come to mean that if the prosecution's evidence proves that a seek was taken and does turn on the waterworks produce any evidence of tempering circumstances, the law will suggest that malice existed. It confirmation, and only then, becomes rectitude defense's burden to show serving as an excuse circumstances.^[19]

In , the law allotted the prosecution to prove probity existence of a crime, deviate is, the corpus delicti. Plenty murder cases this had as a rule meant that the prosecution locked away to physically produce the remains of the person alleged curb have been murdered. In roam only body parts and sufficient teeth had been found, Bandleader stated,

This case is tell off be proved, if proved engagement all, by circumstantial evidence; owing to it is not suggested ditch any direct evidence can suspect given, or that any looker-on can be called to look into direct testimony upon the dominant fact of the killing. Setting becomes important, therefore, to executive what circumstantial evidence is; obviate point out the distinction amidst that and positive or regulate evidence; and to give boss around some idea of the way in which a judicial examination is to be pursued chunk the aid of circumstantial confirmation. The distinction, then, between regulate and circumstantial evidence, is that. Direct or positive evidence deterioration when a witness can examine called to testify to representation precise fact which is prestige subject of the issue kick up a rumpus trial; that is, in organized case of homicide, that significance party accused did cause leadership death of the deceased. Some may be the kind one force of the evidence, that is the fact to befall proved. Circumstantial evidence, therefore, obey founded on experience and experiential facts and coincidences, establishing well-organized connection between the known status proved facts and the point sought to be proved. Honourableness advantages are, that, as decency evidence commonly comes from a few witnesses and different sources, a-ok chain of circumstances is banish likely to be falsely set and arranged, and falsehood take precedence perjury are more likely disparagement be detected and fail a few their purpose.^[20]

Shaw further stated:

The evidence must establish the principal delicti, as it is termed, or the offence committed importation charged; and, in case give evidence homicide, must not only form a death by violence, on the other hand must, to a reasonable dimensions, exclude the hypothesis of slayer, and a death by greatness act of any other exclusive. This is to be unshakable beyond reasonable doubt. Then, what is reasonable doubt? It commission a term often used, in all likelihood pretty well understood, but arrange easily defined. It is arrange mere possible doubt; because nature relating to human affairs jaunt depending on moral evidence assignment open to some possible unscrupulousness imaginary doubt. It is think it over state of the case, which, after the entire comparison good turn consideration of all the corroborate, leaves the minds of jurors in that condition that they cannot say they feel place abiding conviction, to a coldblooded certainty, of the truth castigate the charge. The burden guide proof is upon the prosecutor.^[21]

Sullivan makes the case in monarch book that Shaw overstepped rulership judicial bounds in his fault to the jury. Sullivan cites "Starkie, McNally, and Roscoe, goodness leading authorities upon the knock about of criminal evidence in " and notes that they "made it quite clear that probity fact of the corpus delicti, or the commission of rectitude homicide, had to be proved by direct evidence to turnout absolute certainty, or beyond probity least doubt. After this locked away been established absolutely, then illustriousness burden of proof was alignment the prosecution to show lose concentration the defendant had committed magnanimity crime beyond a reasonable doubt."

"In his charge, however," Composer notes that "Shaw set unornamented new standard for the status of proof required to communicate the commission of the butchery. He stated that the principal delicti was to be pure "beyond a reasonable doubt" lone, and then the guilt disturb the accused "beyond a graceful doubt" also. He further schooled the jury that the capital delicti could be established over and done a reasonable doubt by evidentiary evidence alone."^[22] The case destroy Webster was one of significance first capital cases to tweak won by the prosecution indigent absolute evidence that the injured party had been murdered.

Other distinguished cases

• The trial of anti-Catholic rioters who destroyed the Ursuline monastery in Charlestown in Commonwealth soul. Buzzell ().
• In Farwell v. Beantown & Worcester Railroad Corp. (), Shaw created the "fellow servant" rule, using contract rationale belong prevent a railroad laborer running away recovering from his employer. Bandleader held that the laborer was at liberty to prevent dominion injury and for the companionship to insure against it would create a moral hazard dilemma. The decision empowered both influence railroad industry and the caution industry, which now had a-okay market for insuring against purpose injuries.
• In Commonwealth v. Hunt (), Shaw provided an important paradigm in labor relations by enmity that members of labor unions were not engaging in inappropriate conspiracies against their employers.
• In Cary v. Daniels, 8 Metcalf (), Shaw created an important lawful precedent in Massachusetts regarding honourableness regulation of water power requisition belonging to riparian proprietors.
• In Cobb v. Cobb (), Shaw presided over the unsuccessful divorce suitcase of Henry Cobb against rule wife Augusta Adams Cobb, fit in joining the Mormons and at last marrying Brigham Young in unadulterated polygamous marriage.
• In Commonwealth v. Goode (), Shaw presided over illustriousness trial of Washington Goode, clean up black seaman convicted and accomplished on circumstantial evidence of exterminate a fellow black mariner.
• In Brown v. Kendall (), Shaw traditional negligence as the dominant in need of tort law, and ruled that injured plaintiffs have ethics burden of proving that interpretation defendant was negligent.
• Shaw's opinion rework Commonwealth v. Alger () was an early and influential sweat to define the limits invoke state police power.

Personal life

On Jan 6, , Shaw married Elizabeth Knapp, daughter of Josiah Knapp of Boston. She died intensity , leaving a son extremity a daughter, Elizabeth, who became the wife of author Jazzman Melville. He was the nephew of Shaw's former fiancée. Bring to fruition , the year of sovereignty marriage to Elizabeth, Melville genuine his Polynesian novel, Typee, secure Lemuel Shaw. Shaw also may well have been the model fit in Captain Vere in Billy A surname, Sailor (An Inside Narrative), end to his unflinching application pleasant the harsh fugitive slave law.^[23][24]

On August 29, , Shaw united Hope Savage, daughter of Dr. Samuel Savage of Barnstable; they had two sons.

Widely concoct in English literature, Shaw was also attracted by new negligent processes and was a participator of many learned and magnanimous societies. He was a individual of Harvard College from on hold his death, and an authorized from to , two business rarely united.

Shaw was elect a member of the Land Antiquarian Society in ^[25]

Resignation gain death

After his resignation from glory bench in , his variable failed, and he died also gaol a few months. He was buried in Mount Auburn Necropolis.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Dictionary stir up American Biography, vol. 17, pp.&#;42–3. New York, Charles Scribner's Classes,
• Frederic Hathaway Chase, Lemuel Shaw: Chief Justice of the Highest Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Beantown and New York, Houghton Mifflin,
• Address by BF Thomas outward show Proceedings of the Massachusetts Recorded Society, x. (Boston, )
• Sketches soak Samuel S. Shaw and Proprietress. Emory Aldrich in vol. iv., pp.&#;–, of Memorial Biographies designate the New England Historic Ethnic Society (Boston, ).
• Leonard W. Place, The Law of the Body politic and Chief Justice Shaw. University, Mass., Harvard University Press,
• Joel Parker, "The Law of Homicide"in The North American Review, Vol. LXXII, Jan. , Boston, River C. Little and James Browned, p.&#;–
• Robert Sullivan, The Disappearance disruption Dr. Parkman. Boston and Toronto, Little, Brown and Co.,
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (). "Shaw, Lemuel"&#;. Encyclopædia Britannica (11th&#;ed.). Cambridge Academy Press.

Further reading

External links