Erskine Mayo Ross (June 30, 1845 – December 10, 1928) was an American attorney and jurist from

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 ...

. He served as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

and of the United States Circuit Courts for the Ninth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the

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

and a 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 ...

Early life

Ross was born in Belpre on June 30, 1845, in

Culpeper County Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is Cul ...

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 ...

. He attended the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

, leaving school twice during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

to assist 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 ...

and then returning for further training, graduating in 1864.Oscar T. Shuck, History of the Bench and Bar of California, page 657.

Legal and judicial career in California

In 1868, Ross moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and joined the law office of his uncle, Cameron E. Thom, a prominent lawyer and former state senator who would later serve as Mayor of Los Angeles. After studying law at Thom's office for two years, Ross was admitted to the bar of the district court. In 1875, he joined the bar of the state supreme court, having already become wealthy and famous through his partnership with his uncle. In October 1879, when adoption of a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

required elections for all court seats, Ross was elected to the

and began his term on January 5, 1880. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he was elected at age 34 without having served on the bench of any lower court. The newly elected justices drew lots to determine their length of term, and both he and

John Sharpstein John Randolph Sharpstein (May 3, 1823 – December 28, 1892) was an American lawyer and judge. He was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California for twelve years, and previously served as a member of the Wisconsin State Senate a ...

drew three-year terms. In October 1882, Ross was re-elected on the Democratic ticket along with Sharpstein to a 12-year term on the high court. In November 1885, he announced his plans to resign to return to private practice with law partner Stephen M. White effective January 1, 1886. Instead, Ross delayed his resignation and stayed on the court until October 1, 1886.

Federal judicial service

Ross was nominated by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

on December 16, 1886, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 24 Stat. 308. 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 January 13, 1887, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 5, 1895, due to his elevation to the Ninth Circuit. Ross was nominated by President Cleveland on February 19, 1895, to the

and the United States Circuit Courts for the Ninth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 28 Stat. 665. He was confirmed by the Senate on February 22, 1895, and received his commission the same day. On December 31, 1911, the Circuit Courts were abolished and he thereafter served only on the Court of Appeals. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on May 31, 1925. His service terminated on December 10, 1928, due to his death in Los Angeles.

Bequest creating Ross Essay Contest

In his will, Ross bequeathed $100,000 to endow an essay contest administered by the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

. The essay contest spawned a well-known tax case, in which a winner avoided paying income tax on his prize money. Congress later amended the tax code so that such winnings would be taxed. The topic for the 2009 Ross Essay Contest is ''Write an open letter to the new president and Congress describing the most important priority for improving the U.S. justice system.''

Alpha Tau Omega

Ross was one of the founders of the fraternity

Alpha Tau Omega Alpha Tau Omega (), commonly known as ATO, is an American social fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters and colonies in the United Stat ...

Personal life

On May 7, 1874, Ross wed Inez Hannah Bettis. In 1875, they had one son, Robert Erskine Ross. Inez died December 12, 1907, and in June 1909, Ross remarried to daughter of

Agoston Haraszthy Agoston Haraszthy (; hu, Haraszthy Ágoston, es, Agustín Haraszthy; August 30, 1812 – July 6, 1869) was a Hungarian-American nobleman, adventurer, traveler, writer, town-builder, and pioneer winemaker in Wisconsin and California, often refe ...

named, Ida Haraszthy Hancock, a wealthy widow in Los Angeles. Ross was a charter member of the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of California, admitted on November 30, 1895. General Society No 1360, California Society No. 17.Register of the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of California (2008), pgs.45,92.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

ABA Ross Essay Contest
*
Erskine M. Ross
California Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved July 18, 2017.

California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.