John W. Lacey (October 13, 1848 – February 11, 1936) was chief justice of the Territorial

Wyoming Supreme Court The Wyoming Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming from a list of three nominees sub ...

from July 5, 1884, to November 8, 1886. Born in

Randolph County, Indiana Randolph County is a county located in the central section of U.S. state of Indiana, on its eastern border with Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 26,171. The county seat is Winchester. History The Indiana General Assembly authorized the ...

, Lacey graduated from

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...

, and then "spent a short time in educational work before entering the legal profession". In 1884, President

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A ...

appointed him chief justice of the Territorial Wyoming Supreme Court. Lacey resigned from the court on November 8, 1886, to practice law in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

. In 1903, Lacey served as a

defense attorney A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ...

in the murder trial of noted outlaw

Tom Horn Thomas Horn Jr., (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committed 17 killings as a ...

.Wyoming State Archives biography of John W. Lacey, available at 2301 Central Ave, Cheyenne, WY 82001. Lacey married Elizabeth Van Devanter, who was the sister of

Willis Van Devanter Willis Van Devanter (April 17, 1859 – February 8, 1941) was an American lawyer who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1911 to 1937. He was a staunch conservative and was regarded as a part of the Four ...

, who also served on the Wyoming Supreme Court and later on 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 ...

. John and Elizabeth Lacey had two sons and a daughter. Lacey died in Cheyenne on February 11, 1936.

References

Justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court 1848 births 1936 deaths DePauw University alumni Chief Justices of the Wyoming Supreme Court {{US-state-judge-stub