William Ball Gilbert (July 4, 1847 – April 27, 1931) was an American attorney and jurist from

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. He served as 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 Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

and of the United States Circuit Courts for the Ninth Circuit. A native of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, he previously served in the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

Early life

Gilbert was born in Lewinsville,

on July 4, 1847 to Sarah Catherine Ball and John Gilbert.Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. 1910. ''History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon''. Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co. p. 139. William was named after Colonel William Ball] the grandfather of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's mother Mary Ball;Frederick, David C. (1994)
''Rugged Justice: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the American West, 1891-1941''.
University of California Press. Berkeley. pp. 19-26. he was related to the colonel from his mother's side of the family. He went to local private schools in Lewinsville, located in

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

, and to schools in neighboring

Falls Church Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Churc ...

. The Gilbert family had pro-

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

sympathies, and moved to

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 ...

before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Gilbert attended high school in

Zanesville Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, down ...

, Ohio before moving to Williamstown,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

to attend

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

. He graduated from Williams in 1868 with 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. After graduation he went to the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

on a scientific expedition followed by a geologic expedition to Ohio for two years. After giving up on a scientific career, he earned a

Bachelor of Laws 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 ...

in 1872 from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

. Gilbert was admitted to the bar in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

that year, and then moved to

Oregon

In 1873, Gilbert was admitted to the Oregon bar and began practicing law in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

with H. H. Northrup at what is now

Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP Miller Nash LLP is an American law firm based in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Established in 1873, the limited liability partnership has 153 attorneys firm wide. As of 2017, it was the third largest law firm in Portland when it had 86 atto ...

. On September 3, 1873, Gilbert married Julia West Lindsley. In 1876, he went into a legal partnership with future

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

A. C. Gibbs Addison Crandall Gibbs (July 9, 1825December 29, 1886) was an American politician. He was the second Governor of Oregon from 1862 until 1866, and previously served in the Oregon Territory's legislative body and later the state legislature. Ear ...

, but only for one year before entering into a partnership with Northrup. Gilbert remained in private legal practice in Portland until 1892, working with John M. Gearin and Zera Snow. In 1888, he was elected to the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

.Oregon Legislative Assembly (15th) 1889 Regular Session.
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on February 14, 2008. 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 represented Portland, serving only during the 1889 legislative session.

Federal judicial service

Gilbert was nominated by President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

on February 23, 1892, to the

and the United States Circuit Courts for the Ninth Circuit, to a new joint seat authorized by 26 Stat. 826. 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 March 18, 1892, and received his commission the same day. On December 31, 1911, the Circuit Courts were abolished and he thereafter served only on the Court of Appeals. He was a member of the

Conference of Senior Circuit Judges The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

(now the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

) from 1922 to 1930. His service terminated on April 27, 1931, due to his death in Portland. He was the last federal judge in active service to have been appointed by President Harrison. After Gilbert's death, William Denman replaced him on the court.

Brief nomination controversy

Gilbert's nomination to the court was hampered when one of the associates in his firm, future judge

Wallace McCamant Wallace McCamant (September 22, 1867 – December 17, 1944) was an American jurist in Oregon. A Pennsylvania native, he served as the 46th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 1917 to 1918. Later he served briefly as a United States circuit ju ...

, wrote a letter to a friend expounding that McCamant would gain financially from Gilbert's election to the court. After it was explained that the financial gain had to do with McCamant becoming partner in the firm if Gilbert left, and not something illicit, the nomination moved forward.

Courthouse and notable cases

Gilbert was assigned to the federal courthouse in Portland, now named the

Pioneer Courthouse The Pioneer Courthouse is a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, United States. Built beginning in 1869, the structure is the oldest federal building in the Pacific Northwest, and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River. Along with ...

. While on the court he was responsible for many important decisions, while also serving as the senior ranking judge on the court for 34 years. These including cases concerning the scandal over gold mining in Alaska, a controversy over

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Se ...

's estate and

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, a lawsuit over the

Teapot Dome The Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery scandal involving the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding from 1921 to 1923. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyomin ...

scandal, and the Ninth's opinion in what became the ''

Olmstead v. United States ''Olmstead v. United States'', 277 U.S. 438 (1928), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, on the matter of whether wiretapping of private telephone conversations, obtained by federal agents without a search warrant and subsequ ...

wiretapping Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...

case.

Relationship with Joseph McKenna

Gilbert also worked alongside

Joseph McKenna Joseph McKenna (August 10, 1843 – November 21, 1926) was an American politician who served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorney General and as an Associate J ...

, who would later become

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

before William McKinley nominated McKenna to 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 ...

. Based on his poor view of McKenna's legal abilities, Gilbert openly opposed McKenna's nomination to the country's high court.

Later years

From 1893 to 1918, Gilbert lectured on constitutional law at the

University of Oregon School of Law The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in ...

. In 1898, he received an honorary doctorate of laws from his alma mater Williams College. In Portland, Gilbert was a member of the

Arlington Club The Arlington Club is a private social club organized in 1867 by 35 business and banking leaders of Portland in the US state of Oregon. First called the Social Club and later renamed the Arlington Club, it offered its all-male members, most of w ...

, while in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

(home of the Ninth Circuit Court) he was a member of the Southern Club. Described as charming and industrious, he was a very private individual who also refused to ride in automobiles, which he disdained.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, William Ball 1847 births 1931 deaths Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Members of the Oregon House of Representatives University of Oregon faculty Williams College alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni Portland, Oregon Republicans People from McLean, Virginia United States federal judges appointed by Benjamin Harrison 19th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers Oregon lawyers 20th-century American judges