James Robinson (May 11, 1843 – March 22, 1933) was a justice of the

North Dakota Supreme Court The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts. Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...

from 1917 to 1922.

Biography

Early years

Born in Michigan, Robinson began his education in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, where he taught school for a short time. He enlisted in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

and served 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 ...

Legal career

Robinson graduated from the

Michigan State University College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the fi ...

on March 5, 1868, and thereafter engaged in the

private practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professio ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

until 1883, during which time he also served a term as District Attorney of

Trempealeau County Trempealeau County (, ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,760. Its county seat is Whitehall. Many people of Hispanic, Polish, Norwegian and German descent live in this area. History Patche ...

. Robinson then moved to Fargo,

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

, in 1882 where he resumed his private practice until 1916, when, at the age of 73, he was elected to a six-year term on the

. While serving as a Justice, he wrote a weekly "Saturday Evening Letter" column about the work of the court for the ''

Bismarck Tribune ''The Bismarck Tribune'' is a daily newspaper with a weekly audience of 82,000 unique readers, printed daily in Bismarck, North Dakota. Owned by Lee Enterprises, it is the only daily newspaper for south-central and southwest North Dakota. Histo ...

''. He had an opposition to the doctrine of precedent and ''

stare decisis A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...

'', which attracted criticism upon his practice. He became

Chief Justice of North Dakota The following is a list of chief justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court. See also the List of justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court {, class=wikitable , -bgcolor=#cccccc ! # !! Name !! Term !! Life , - , 1 , , Guy C. H. Corliss , ...

in 1921, but was defeated in a reelection attempt in 1922.

Later years

He then returned to the practice of law until poor health forced his retirement, in 1931. In 1923, Robinson published a book entitled ''Wrongs and Remedies''. In 1931, he moved into a National Soldiers Home in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, Wisconsin, and remained there until his death in 1933.

References

1843 births 1933 deaths Michigan State University College of Law alumni Justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court Union Army personnel American expatriates in Canada 20th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers {{NorthDakota-state-judge-stub