John Kelvey Richards (March 15, 1856 – March 1, 1909) was the 20th

Attorney General of Ohio The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the attor ...

, the 10th

Solicitor General of the United States The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...

and 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. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...

and of the United States Circuit Courts for the Sixth Circuit.

Education and career

Born on March 15, 1856, in Ironton, Lawrence County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Richards was the son of Samuel and Sarah (Kelvey) Richards. Having received his early education in the schools of his native town, Richards received an

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1875 from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

, an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1877 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and

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 the ...

in 1879, in the office of Judge William Wartenbee Johnson, later Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Ohio The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...

. He was a prosecutor for Lawrence County from 1880 to 1882. He was city solicitor for Ironton from 1885 to 1889. He was a member of the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

from 1890 to 1892, serving as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He was the 20th

from 1892 to 1896, his term running currently with that of

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

. He was a member of the to Codify Insurance Laws of Ohio from 1895 to 1896. He was counsel for the Commission on Taxation of the

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...

in 1896. He was general counsel for the Ohio State Board of Medical Registration and Examination from 1896 to 1898. He was special counsel for the Ohio State Board of Appraisers and Assessors from 1896 to 1898. He was the 10th

from July 1, 1897 to March 16, 1903.

Notable cases as Ohio Attorney General

While serving as the Ohio Attorney General, Richards successfully fought through the courts the claim of the state that though it had granted the canal beds to these cities for streets and sewage purposes, the cities had no right to turn them over to the railroads and that the railroads must surrender their use to the state. The tax bills which he as counsel for the legislative committee helped to draft, he was called upon to uphold in state courts and in the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. His successful defense of these bills, which taxed the franchises of foreign corporations, the property of interstate express companies by the "unit" rule, and the proportionate share of cars of sleeping car companies, gave rise to decisions which became the basis for much important excise and property-tax law.

Notable cases as Solicitor General

As Solicitor General, Richards was called upon to handle the difficult legal questions arising out of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, particularly in reference to the territory acquired by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. A number of the ''

Insular Cases The Insular Cases are a series of opinions by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1901 about the status of U.S. territories acquired in the Spanish–American War. Some scholars also include cases regarding territorial status decided up unti ...

'' were argued by him in the Supreme Court, as were also the '' Joint Traffic Association'' and the '' Addyston Pipe & Steel Company'' cases. He prepared the briefs and handled the Northern Securities case until his appointment to the bench in 1903.

Federal judicial service

Richards was nominated by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

on February 19, 1903, to a joint seat on the

and the United States Circuit Courts for the Sixth Circuit vacated by Judge William Rufus Day. 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 February 23, 1903, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 1, 1909, due to his death in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio.

Judicial opinions

During his time on the federal bench, Richards wrote over 140 opinions, few being over three pages long, and many only one or two.

Personal

On June 12, 1890, Richards married Anna Willard Steece of Ironton, Ohio, who with one daughter and two sons survived him.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, John Kelvey 1856 births 1909 deaths Swarthmore College alumni Harvard University alumni People from Ironton, Ohio Ohio Attorneys General United States Solicitors General Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt 20th-century American judges Ohio state senators County district attorneys in Ohio United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American judges