David Campbell Humphreys (November 9, 1817 – July 12, 1879) was an

associate justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...

of the

Supreme Court of the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...

Education and career

Born in Morgan County,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, Humphreys began the practice of law in Madison County, Alabama. He was a member of the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...

in 1843, 1849, 1853, and 1868. He was a planter and in private practice in

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

, Alabama from 1850 to 1861. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

, rising to the rank of Colonel.

Federal judicial service

Humphreys was nominated by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

on April 22, 1870, to an Associate Justice seat on the

(now the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...

) vacated by Associate Justice

George P. Fisher George Purnell Fisher (October 13, 1817 – February 10, 1899) was Attorney General of Delaware, Secretary of State of Delaware, a United States representative from Delaware and an United States federal judge, Associate Justice of the Supreme Co ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on May 10, 1870, and received his commission on May 13, 1870. His service terminated on July 2, 1879, due to his death in

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Unsuccessful nomination

In 1873, President Grant nominated Humphreys to a joint seat on the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama (in case citations, M.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appea ...

, the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (in case citations, N.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims again ...

and the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama The United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (in case citations, S.D. Ala.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appea ...

, in an effort to replace the increasingly unpopular Judge Richard Busteed with an Alabama native (Busteed was simultaneously nominated to take Humphreys' seat in the District of Columbia), but the nomination was returned by the Senate as irregular.

Home

Humphreys' house in Huntsville, built in 1848, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1977.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, David Campbell 1817 births 1879 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia United States federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant 19th-century American judges American planters Confederate States Army officers Lawyers from Huntsville, Alabama Members of the Alabama House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians