Dakota Territorial Supreme Court

The Dakota Territorial Supreme Court was the highest court of the Dakota Territory, then an organized incorporated territory of the United States. It was the first Territorial Supreme Court in American history, and was established under Article One of the United States Constitution, with justices were appointed directly by the President of the United States. The court sat in Yankton, South Dakota, and existed from March 2, 1861, to November 2, 1889. The first court consisted of three justices: Philemon Bliss, Lorenzo P. Williston, and Joseph Lanier Williams, appointed by President Abraham Lincoln. The court heard no cases until December 3, 1867.[1] In 1879 the court enlarged to four justices, then six in 1884, and eight in 1888.

Justices

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Following is a list of justices of the Dakota Territorial Supreme Court, this was that existed. When the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota, the court was abolished by operation of law, and its function was taken over by the North Dakota Supreme Court and the South Dakota Supreme Court.[2]

Title Name Term begin Term end Appointed by
Chief Justice Philemon Bliss 1861 1864 Abraham Lincoln
Associate Justice Allan A. Burton 1861 1861 Abraham Lincoln
Associate Justice Lorenzo P. Williston 1861 1865 Abraham Lincoln
Associate Justice Joseph Lanier Williams 1861 1865 Abraham Lincoln
Chief Justice Ara Bartlett 1864 1869 Abraham Lincoln
Associate Justice William E. Gleason 1865 1867 Abraham Lincoln
Associate Justice Jefferson P. Kidder 1865
1879
1875
1883
Abraham Lincoln
Rutherford B. Hayes
Associate Justice John W. Boyle 1867 1869 Andrew Johnson
Associate Justice Wilmot Brookings 1869 1873 Ulysses S. Grant
Chief Justice George W. French 1869 1873 Ulysses S. Grant
Associate Justice Alanson H. Barnes 1873 1881 Ulysses S. Grant
Chief Justice Peter C. Shannon 1873 1882 Ulysses S. Grant
Associate Justice Granville G. Bennett 1875 1878 Ulysses S. Grant
Associate Justice Gideon C. Moody 1878 1883 Rutherford B. Hayes
Associate Justice Sanford A. Hudson 1881 1885
Chief Justice Alonzo J. Edgerton 1882 1886 Chester A. Arthur
Associate Justice William E. Church 1883 1886 Chester A. Arthur
Associate Justice Cornelius S. Palmer 1883 1888 Chester A. Arthur
Associate Justice William H. Francis 1884 1888 Chester A. Arthur
Associate Justice Seward Smith 1884 1885 Chester A. Arthur
Associate Justice Louis K. Church 1885 1887 Grover Cleveland
Associate Justice William B. McConnell 1885 1889 Grover Cleveland
Chief Justice Bartlett Tripp 1886 1889 Grover Cleveland
Associate Justice Charles M. Thomas 1886 1889 Grover Cleveland
Associate Justice James Spencer 1887 1889 Grover Cleveland
Associate Justice John Emmett Carland 1888 1889 Grover Cleveland
Associate Justice Roderick Rose 1888 1889 Grover Cleveland
Associate Justice Charles F. Templeton 1888 1889 Grover Cleveland
Associate Justice Louis W. Crofoot 1888 1889 Grover Cleveland
Associate Justice Frank R. Aikens 1889 1889 Benjamin Harrison

References

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  1. ^ "Territorial Supreme Court". The South Dakota Supreme Court. South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  2. ^ "SD Supreme Court Photographic History". South Dakota Supreme Court. South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Retrieved June 17, 2016.