Daniel Ringo (October 27, 1803 – September 3, 1873) was a justice of the

Arkansas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Arkansas is the highest court in the state judiciary of Arkansas. It has ultimate and largely discretionary appellate jurisdiction over all state court cases that involve a point of state law, and original jurisdiction o ...

, and later a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Arkansas The following are former United States district courts, which ceased to exist because they were subdivided into smaller units. With the exception of California, each of these courts initially covered an entire U.S. state, and was subdivided as the ...

, the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (in case citations, E.D. Ark.) is a federal court in the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appeal ...

and the

United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (in case citations, W.D. Ark.) is a federal court in the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appeale ...

Education and career

Born on October 27, 1803, in Cross Plains,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, Ringo moved to

Arkadelphia, Arkansas Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Hender ...

, in 1820, and became deputy clerk of the district court, and in 1825, clerk.Fay Hempstead, ''Historical Review of Arkansas'' (1911)
p. 443-44
Ringo

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 t ...

in 1830, and entered private practice in

Washington, Arkansas Washington is a city in Ozan Township, Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 180 at the 2010 census, up from 148 in 2000. It is part of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city is home to Historic Washington S ...

. In 1833 he moved to

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

Arkansas Territory The Arkansas Territory was a territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas. Arkansas Post was the first territo ...

(State of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

from June 15, 1836). where he continued to practice law until 1836. In 1836 was elected to the

, drawing the long term of eight years. He was chief justice until 1844, when he was defeated for re-election. One evaluation of his service on the state supreme court said:

Federal judicial service

Ringo received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...

from President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

on November 5, 1849, to a seat on the

vacated by the death of Judge Benjamin Johnson. He was nominated to the same position by President Taylor on December 21, 1849. 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 po ...

on June 10, 1850, and received his commission the same day. Ringo was reassigned by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

to the

and the

on March 3, 1851, to a new joint seat authorized by 9 Stat. 594. His service terminated on May 6, 1861, due to his resignation, which came at the beginning of the

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

Later career and death

Following his resignation from the federal bench, Ringo served as a Judge of the Confederate District Court for the Districts of Arkansas from 1862 to 1863. He resumed private practice in Little Rock from 1865 to 1873, though " his later years he did little, for the adoption of the civil code had deprived him of his principal engine of legal warfare, the common-law pleading". He died on September 3, 1873, in Little Rock. He was interred in

Mount Holly Cemetery Mount Holly Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in the Quapaw Quarter area of downtown Little Rock in the U.S. state of Arkansas, and is the burial place for numerous Arkansans of note. It was listed on the National Register of Historic ...

in Little Rock.

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ringo, Daniel 1803 births 1873 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Arkansas Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas United States federal judges appointed by Zachary Taylor 19th-century American judges Judges of the Confederate States of America Chief Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law