Townsend Scudder (July 26, 1865 – February 22, 1960) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served two non-consecutive terms as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

around the turn of the 20th century

Biography

Born in Northport, Scudder was a nephew of

Henry Joel Scudder Henry Joel Scudder (September 18, 1825 – February 10, 1886) was a United States House of Representatives, United States Representative from New York. Early life Born in Northport, New York, Northport. He was the son of Henry Scudder (1778 ...

, also a U.S. Representative from New York. Townsend attended preparatory schools in Europe and graduated from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 1888. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1889 and commenced practice in New York City.

Congress

Scudder was corporation counsel for Queens County from 1893 to 1899, and was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

56th United States Congress The 56th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1899, ...

, holding office from March 4, 1899, to March 3, 1901. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1900 and resumed the practice of law. He was elected to the

58th United States Congress The 58th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC, from March 4, 1903, to ...

, holding office from March 4, 1903, to March 3, 1905.

Judicial career

Scudder was a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

(2nd District) from 1907 to 1920, and afterwards again resumed the practice of law in New York City. In

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

, he was defeated for the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

by Republican William S. Andrews. He was State park commissioner and vice president of the

Long Island State Park Commission The Long Island State Park Commission was created in 1924 by the New York State Legislature to build and operate parks and parkways on Long Island. Governor Al Smith was appointed as its first President, and Robert Moses, who had drafted the bill ...

from 1924 to 1927. He was appointed to the

by Governor Alfred E. Smith in February 1927 and was subsequently nominated by the two major political parties to succeed himself for the full term of fourteen years. In his first year on the bench, Scudder presided of the highly publicized murder trial of

Ruth Snyder Ruth Brown Snyder (March 27, 1895 – January 12, 1928) was an American murderer. Her execution in the electric chair at New York's Sing Sing Prison in 1928 for the murder of her husband, Albert Snyder, was recorded in a highly publicized photogra ...

and her lover Henry Judd Gray, for the murder of Ruth's husband Albert Snyder. Both were convicted and sentenced to death, though Scudder personally opposed capital punishment and would trade criminal cases with other judges to avoid having to pass such sentences. Scudder was active in the world of dogs. In 1932, he was the BIS (best in show) judge at the WKC (Westminster Kennel Club) dog show.Retrieved on January 27, 2015 from http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/shop/dvd.html. Scudder remained on the bench until the end of 1936, when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years.

Death

Scudder died in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

in 1960; interment was in

Putnam Cemetery Putnam Cemetery is a non-sectarian cemetery located at 35 Parsonage Road in Greenwich, Connecticut. It is affiliated with adjacent Saint Mary's Cemetery at 399 North Street, which is a Catholic cemetery; the two cemeteries share the same office. T ...

References

Bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scudder, Townsend 1865 births 1960 deaths People from Northport, New York Columbia Law School alumni New York Supreme Court Justices Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)