Andrew Alexander Bruce (April 15, 1866 – December 6, 1934) was an American judge who served as a justice of the

Supreme Court of North Dakota The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts. Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...

from 1911 to 1918.

Early life and education

Andrew A. Bruce was born in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, on April 15, 1866, to parents of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

ancestry. At the time of his birth, his father Edward Archibald Bruce was a General in the British Army and was stationed in India. Bruce attended

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1881, at the age of 15, Bruce was

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed and immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on his own. For several years, Bruce worked as a farm laborer in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. He then later attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, where he received his law degree in 1892.

Career

After graduating, Bruce practiced law in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He served on the legal staff of the Wisconsin Central Railway Company and the Illinois State Board of Factory Inspectors. While in Illinois and practicing as an attorney there, he lived in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. In 1895, he became involved in the Ritchie v. People case and fought in favor of workers’ rights. Bruce became known as an avid advocate of labor laws, and he helped establish laws against sweat shops in Wisconsin and Illinois. In 1898, he discontinued practicing law and began a career in teaching at the

University of Wisconsin School of Law The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

. In 1902, he moved to

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

and served as the Dean of the

University of North Dakota School of Law The University of North Dakota School of Law is located in Grand Forks, North Dakota at the University of North Dakota (UND) and is the only law school in North Dakota. It was established in 1899. The law school is home to approximately 240 studen ...

until 1911. In 1911, Governor John Burke appointed Bruce to fill the position on the

North Dakota Supreme Court The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts. Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...

that had been vacated by the resignation of Justice David Morgan. Bruce entered the bench at the age of 45, and he was elected to a full term in 1912. Bruce served on the Supreme Court until resigning on December 1, 1918, including serving as chief justice from 1917-1918. His tenure as a justice lasted roughly seven years and one month. His reason for retiring was in order to reenter the teaching profession. After resigning from the court, Bruce moved to

and taught at the University of Minnesota School of Law from 1919 to 1922. After that, he accepted a position at

Northwestern University Law School Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, ...

where he taught until his death. In addition to his career as an attorney, professor, and judge, Bruce wrote several books on law and was a frequent contributor to magazines, newspapers, and journals. He also served on many committees and boards, such as the President of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology. He was a supporter of racial segregation, writing a widely cited article ''Racial Zoning by Private Contract'' which advocated keeping African Americans out of neighborhoods largely populated by White people using private agreements.Andrew A. Bruce, ''Racial Zoning by Private Contract in the Light of the Constitutions and the Rule Against Restraints on Alienation'', 21 Illinois (now Northwestern) Law Review 704 (1926-1927). Andrew A. Bruce died on December 6, 1934, at the age of 68 after succumbing to a bronchial illness.

References

Justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni 1866 births 1934 deaths Deans of law schools in the United States North Dakota lawyers 20th-century American judges Wisconsin lawyers People from Chennai Lawyers from Chicago Educators from Illinois Educators from Minnesota Educators from Wisconsin Educators from North Dakota University of North Dakota faculty Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law faculty University of Wisconsin Law School faculty University of Minnesota Law School faculty Chief Justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court British people in colonial India British emigrants to the United States {{NorthDakota-state-judge-stub

Early life and education

Career

See also

References