Daniel Goodwin (November 24, 1799 – August 25, 1887) was a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1843 to 1846. originally published ''

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'', August 26, 1887.

Early life, education, and career

Born in Geneva, New York, Goodwin was a descendant of Ozias Goodwin, who settled in Hartford,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, as early as 1635.Henry A. Chaney, "The Supreme Court of Michigan", '' The Green Bag'' (1890), Vol. 2, p. 381-82. His father, Dr. Daniel Goodwin, was a physician. Goodwin graduated from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1819, where his classmates included

William H. Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senate, United States Senat ...

, and Bishops Doane and Potter. He

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

with noted New York attorney John Canfield Spencer in Canandaigua, New York. In 1825 he moved from New York to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, then in the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

, where his father had just died.

United States Attorney

Before Michigan became a state in 1837,

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Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

offered Goodwin the district judgeship, but Goodwin thought the salary too small, and the position went to

Ross Wilkins Ross Wilkins (February 19, 1799 – May 17, 1872) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Michigan and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Education and caree ...

instead. Jackson, however, made Goodwin United States Attorney for the District of Michigan. As U.S. Attorney, Goodwin prosecuted many individuals for violations of the

Neutrality Act of 1794 The Neutrality Act of 1794 was a United States law which made it illegal for a United States citizen to wage war against any country at peace with the United States. The Act declares in part: If any person shall within the territory or jurisdic ...

during the Patriot War of 1837 and 1838, in which bands of U.S. citizens invaded

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

to harass British troops stationed there. These prosecutions were unpopular, leading to threats against Goodwin, who was for a time given protective accompaniment by friends including General Hugh Brady and explorer Robert Stuart. In January 1838, Goodwin tried Thomas Sutherland, organizer of the attacks. However, witnesses were uncooperative and Judge Wilkins consistently sustained defense objections, ultimately dismissing the case. In July and December 1838, seven or more Patriots, following "filibuster" jaunts into Upper Canada, were charged by Goodwin only to be acquitted by Wilkins.

Judicial service and other later-life activities

On July 13, 1843, Goodwin was appointed Judge of the First Circuit and Associate Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. He served until October 1846, when he resigned. Goodwin was president of the Constitutional Convention of 1850, and also took part in the prosecution of the famous railroad conspiracy case in Detroit that year, in which Governor Seward was the leading counsel for the defense. In 1851, Goodwin was elected a circuit judge in the Upper Peninsula, and was thereafter continuously re-elected until 1881, serving for thirty years He was also a member of the Constitutional Convention 1867. Goodwin died in Detroit at age of eighty-seven.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Daniel 1799 births 1887 deaths Delegates to the 1850 Michigan Constitutional Convention People from Geneva, New York People from Michigan Territory United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Michigan United States Attorneys for the Western District of Michigan U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court 19th-century American judges