Edward Norton (October 29, 1808 – May 2, 1872) was an American lawyer and Associate Justice of the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

from January 2, 1862, to January 2, 1864.

Biography

Born in

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrat ...

, Norton received a liberal arts education at

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 Memoriam
California Supreme Court, 44 Cal. Rpts. xv (1872). Retrieved September 17, 2017. After his admission to the Bar, he practiced law for several years in Buffalo, and then in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1849, he moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and practiced in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In 1851, he served as a member of the Whig Party central committee in Sacramento. Also in 1851, he was appointed

Reporter of Decisions The Reporter of Decisions (sometimes known by other titles, such as Official Reporter or State Reporter) is the official responsible for publishing the decisions of a court. Traditionally, the decisions were published in books known as case repor ...

, and began drafting his reports. But after his drafts were destroyed in a city fire on May 4, 1851, he resigned from the position, and was replaced by

Nathaniel Bennett Nathaniel Bennett (June 27, 1818 – April 20, 1886) was one of the first Associate Justices of the California Supreme Court. Early life and education On June 27, 1818, Bennett was born in Clinton, New York, to a family of merchants and farm ...

. In November 1852, the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nominated Norton for Judge of the San Francisco county District Court, running against the Whig candidate, Delos Lake, who won by merely 21 votes. In June 1854, Governor

John Bigler John Bigler (January 8, 1805November 29, 1871) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat. A Democrat, he served as the third governor of California from 1852 to 1856 and was the first California governor to complete an entire term in office, ...

appointed Norton as a Judge of the Twelfth District Court, to stand at the next election. In September 1854, Norton was elected on the ticket of both the Democratic Party and

Know Nothings The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

to a full term on that Court. On December 16, 1860, having continued on the District bench for a full term of six years, he retired on account of his health, which had become seriously impaired. Norton determined to visit to Europe, intending to be absent several years. After his arrival in Europe, and without his knowledge, he was elected to the Supreme Court of California on the Republican Party ticket. On receiving the news, he returned to California to commence his term in January 1862. Chief Justice

Stephen Johnson Field Stephen Johnson Field (November 4, 1816 – April 9, 1899) was an American jurist. He was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from May 20, 1863, to December 1, 1897, the second longest tenure of any justice. Prior to this ap ...

described Norton as a skilled trial court judge who was unsuited to the appellate bench. In October 1863, elections were held for all seats on the Supreme Court due to an 1862 amendment to the California constitution and 1863 enabling law, and Norton chose to retire rather than seek re-election. One anecdote from Norton's service on the court involves him giving a young lawyer an examination for admission to the bar: On May 2, 1872, Norton died while on a trip to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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."Legal Obituaries"
''Albany Law Journal''
Vol. 5 (Weed, Parsons & Company, 1872), p. 401. Retrieved September 17, 2017.

References

External links

California Supreme Court Historical Society page on Edward Norton
California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

List of justices of the Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest judicial body in the state and sits at the apex of the judiciary of California. Its membership consists of the Chief Justice of California and six associate justices who are nominated by the Governor ...

California Reporter of Decisions The California Reporter of Decisions is a reporter of decisions supervised by the Supreme Court of California responsible for editing and publishing the published opinions of the judiciary of California. The Supreme Court's decisions are published ...

Edwin B. Crocker Edwin Bryant Crocker (26 April 1818 – 24 June 1875) was a California Supreme Court Justice and founder of the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California. Biography Crocker was born in Jamesville, New York to Isaac and Elizabeth Crocker. He e ...

Warner Cope Warner Walton Cope (January 31, 1824 – January 17, 1903), also known as W. W. Cope, was the sixth Chief Justice of California. Biography Born in Kentucky, Cope came to California in 1850 and tried mining, but found little success. In 1853 he r ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Edward 1807 births 1872 deaths Politicians from Canandaigua, New York Union College (New York) alumni Politicians from Buffalo, New York Justices of the Supreme Court of California Superior court judges in the United States U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Lawyers from San Francisco 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American judges California Know Nothings California Republicans California Democrats Lawyers from Buffalo, New York

Biography

References

External links

See also