Sherman R. Moulton (June 10, 1876 – June 16, 1949) was a Vermont attorney and judge. He is most notable for his service as an associate justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The Court ...

(1926-1939) and as Chief Justice (1939-1949).

Early life

Sherman Roberts Moulton was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on June 10, 1876, the son of Annie Jane Roberts and Clarence Freeman Moulton. He was raised in

Randolph, Vermont Randolph is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,774 at the 2020 census, making Randolph the largest town in Orange County. The town is a commercial center for many of the smaller, rural farming communities that s ...

, and graduated from Randolph High School. Moulton was an 1898 graduate of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, and in 1901 he received his

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. He completed his legal training with attorney Joseph D. Denison of Randolph, and attained admission to the bar in October 1901.

Start of career

Moulton was an attorney for the Rutland Railroad from 1902 to 1903, and then worked as an associate at the Townsend & Avery firm in New York City. In 1910, Moulton was one of the founding partners of Cowles, Moulton, & Stearns, a law firm located in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. He left the firm in 1912, and established a Burlington office in which he was the principal. Moulton was active in politics as a

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 ...

; he was a member of the Burlington Republican Committee from 1910 to 1912, and was chairman beginning in 1911. From 1911 to 1913, and again from 1915 to 1916, he served as Burlington's grand juror, responsible for pursuing prosecutions in the city court.

Continued career

From 1915 to 1917, Moulton was executive clerk and legal advisor to Governor

Charles W. Gates Charles Winslow Gates (January 12, 1856 in Franklin, Vermont – July 1, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 55th governor of Vermont from 1915 to 1917. Biography Gates was born January 12, 1856, son of Harrison and Leona Rebecca ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Moulton served as a member of Vermont's Public Safety Committee, the body formed to coordinate the state government's wartime planning and actions. In 1918, Moulton was elected to the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

, and he served in January, 1919. In addition, he served as reporter of decisions for the

Judicial career

In February, 1919, Moulton was appointed as a judge of the Vermont Superior Court, succeeding Eleazer L. Waterman. He served until 1926 and advanced through seniority to chief judge. In October 1926, he succeeded Fred M. Butler as an associate justice of the

. In July 1938, Moulton was appointed as chief justice of the state Supreme Court, succeeding George M. Powers. He was succeeded as an associate justice by

Olin M. Jeffords Olin Merrill Jeffords (June 8, 1890 – October 10, 1964) was a Vermont attorney and judge who served as chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. He was the father of Senator Jim Jeffords. Biography Olin M. Jeffords was born in Enosburg Fal ...

. Moulton served as chief justice until retiring in February 1949. He was succeeded as chief justice by associate justice

John C. Sherburne John C. Sherburne (August 31, 1883 – June 30, 1959) was a Vermont attorney and judge. His career was most notable for his service as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court from 1934 to 1949, and the court's Chief Justice from 1949 to ...

Death and burial

Moulton died in Burlington on June 16, 1949. He was buried at Moulton Cemetery in Randolph.

Honors

Moulton received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

in 1941, and an honorary D.C.L. from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

in 1945.

Family

In 1906, Moulton married Stella Platt (1880-1966) of Burlington. They were the parents of a son, Horace (1907-1991), who became a successful corporate attorney.

References

Sources

Books

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Newspapers

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moulton, Sherman R. 1876 births 1949 deaths People from Randolph, Vermont People from Burlington, Vermont Dartmouth College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Vermont lawyers Republican Party Vermont state senators Chief Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Burials in Vermont