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 The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

and

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Biography

Sharpstein was born on May 3 or May 23, 1823 in

Richmond, New York Richmond is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 3,380 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Abigail Richmond Pitts, an early settler. The town of Richmond is on the western border of the county, south of R ...

. In 1847, he moved to

Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Sheboygan County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan. The county was created in 1836 and organized in 1846. At t ...

. Sharpstein was a member of the

from 1852 to 1853, representing the 16th district in 1852 and the 8th district in 1853. He was a member of the

in 1863. Sharpstein was a District Attorney of Sheboygan County and of

Kenosha County, Wisconsin Kenosha County is located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 169,151 as of the 2020 census, making it the eighth most populous county in Wisconsin. The county shares the same name as the city of Kenosh ...

. From 1853 to 1857, he was U.S Attorney of

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 ...

. In 1854, he represented the government in the fugitive slave cases, ''

Ableman v. Booth ''Ableman v. Booth'', 62 U.S. (21 How.) 506 (1859), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously held that state courts cannot issue rulings that contradict the decisions of federal courts,Hoiberg, Dale H. (2010) overt ...

'' and '' United States v. Booth'' (18 How. 476, 21 How. 506), appealing up to the Supreme Court of the United States, where Chief Justice

Roger Taney Roger Brooke Taney (; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Although an opponent of slavery, believing it to be an evil practice, Taney belie ...

wrote the unanimous opinion. In April 1857, Sharpstein became Postmaster of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 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, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, and then was a delegate to the

1860 Democratic National Convention The 1860 Democratic National Conventions were a series of presidential nominating conventions held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1860 election. The first convention, held from April 23 t ...

. In 1864, Sharpstein moved to California, was admitted to the California bar in January 1865, and began practicing law there. In 1872, he published a book on insurance law. In January 1874, Governor Newton Booth appointed Sharpstein a judge of the Twelfth District Court in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, replacing Elisha W. McKinstry. In October 1875, he ran for election on the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

ticket but lost the election to the district court to William E. Daingerfield. In July 1878, Sharpstein was nominated by the Workingmen's Party and elected as a member of the Constitutional Convention from the First Congressional District. 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 entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

required elections for all Supreme Court seats, Sharpstein was nominated by Democratic and Workingmen's parties and won a position as associate justice. When the term began January 5, 1880, the justices drew lots to determine their length of term, and he and Erskine M. Ross both drew three-year terms. In November 1882, both Ross and Sharpstein were re-elected on the Democratic ticket to 12-year terms. Among Sharpstein's notable opinions is ''

Tape v. Hurley ''Tape v. Hurley'', 66 Cal. 473, (1885) was a landmark court case in the California Supreme Court in which the Court found the exclusion of a Chinese American student from public school based on her ancestry unlawful. The case effectively ruled ...

'', 66 Cal. 473 (1885), holding the City of San Francisco excluding a Chinese child from public school violated the California Constitution. In July 1886, former Chief Justice

David S. Terry David Smith Terry (March 8, 1823 – August 14, 1889) was an American politician and jurist who served as the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court of California; he was an author of the state's 1879 Constitution. Terry won a duel aga ...

filed a petition which unsuccessfully sought the removal of both Chief Justice Robert F. Morrison and Sharpstein on the basis of incompetence due to age. Sharpstein remained a member of the court until his death on December 28, 1892.

Civic activities

In 1878, Sharpstein was a member of the first board of trustees of the

Hastings College of the Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California ...

Personal life

On November 17, 1845, Sharpstein married Catherine C. Crittenden in

Macomb, Michigan Macomb Township is a civil township of Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 91,663 at the 2020 Census, which makes it the most-populated civil township in the state. It is the third most-populated township overall af ...

. They had two daughters, who both died young in Michigan, and two sons, Jay Pitt Sharpstein, who lived in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

, and William Crittenden Sharpstein, who graduated from Hastings College of Law and became an attorney.

References

Selected publications

External links