William Hayes Pope (June 14, 1870 – September 13, 1916) was the last Chief Justice of New Mexico Territory and the first

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of New Mexico The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico (in case citations, D.N.M.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of New Mexico. Court is held in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Roswell, Santa ...

after

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

attained statehood.

Education and career

Pope was born in Beaufort,

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

to Joseph James Pope, a lawyer, and Emily Hayes (Mikell)... He received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in 1889, followed by 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 Ch ...

from the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it among the oldest American university law schools in continuous ...

in 1890. He also taught at the University of Georgia as an adjunct professor of ancient languages from 1889 to 1890, when he was admitted to the bar. He then practiced law in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

., joining the law firm of his uncle, Hoke Smith. Pope moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory in 1894, apparently seeking a climate that was better for his health. He practiced law there until 1896 in the firm Victory & Pope, with senior partner John P. Victory.. Their partnership was also a public one; Victory was then the territory's attorney general, and Pope served as the Assistant Attorney General from 1895 to 1897. During that period, he served as a commissioner from New Mexico to the Atlanta Exposition in 1895, and on the Capitol Rebuilding Commission from 1895 to 1900. In March 1896, Pope was appointed by the

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 ...

to serve as a special Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Court of Private Land Claims, from which Pope resigned in June 1902. He was then appointed by the

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...

as a special

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

to represent the interests of the

Pueblo Indians The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Z ...

of New Mexico Territory, from 1901 to 1902. In June 1902,

Governor-General of the Philippines The Governor-General of the Philippines (Spanish: ''Gobernador y Capitán General de Filipinas''; Filipino: ''Gobernador-Heneral ng Pilipinas/Kapitan Heneral ng Pilipinas''; Japanese: ) was the title of the government executive during the colo ...

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

appointed Pope to a judgeship on the Court of First Instance, Philippine Islands. Pope established a friendship with Taft during his service there. He returned to the United States in July 1903, and in October was appointed by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

as an associate justice of the

New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court The New Mexico Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is established and its powers defined by Article VI of the New Mexico Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court which reviews civil and criminal decis ...

. Pope was elevated to Chief Justice in 1910, and served in that capacity until 1912.

Federal judicial service

Pope was the first judge appointed to the new United States District Court for New Mexico, after it attained statehood on January 6, 1912. Pope was nominated by President

on January 22, 1912, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 36 Stat. 557. His nomination received some opposition. Ten prominent New Mexico lawyers accused Pope of delaying decisions in submitted cases (despite his reputation to the contrary), and Pope's support of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

may have also been an issue. 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 February 20, 1912, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on September 13, 1916, due to his death in Atlanta.

Notable case

One of Pope's decisions on the federal bench was reversed by the

U.S. 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 ...

, in '' United States v. Sandoval'', 231 U.S. 28 (1913). The issue was whether an 1897 federal law that criminalized the sale of alcohol to Indians applied to the Pueblos in the state of New Mexico. Pope had ruled that the Pueblos were ordinary citizens living on private property, and did not fit into the classes of Indians defined in the 1897 law.Pope's opinion is reported at ''United States v. Sandoval'', 198 F. 539 ( D.N.M. 1912). In reversing, the Supreme Court held that the Pueblos were a dependent people, which Congress had made clear in the Enabling Act providing for New Mexico's statehood.

Memberships and interment

Pope was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the

Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...

, and a freemason. He was married for eleven years, but had no children. He was buried in Fairview Cemetery in Santa Fe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, William Hayes Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico United States district court judges appointed by William Howard Taft 20th-century American judges New Mexico Territory judges Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers New Mexico lawyers History of the Philippines (1898–1946) American expatriates in the Philippines University of Georgia alumni University of Georgia faculty People from Beaufort, South Carolina 1870 births 1916 deaths Assistant United States Attorneys