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William Jay Magie (December 9, 1832 – January 15, 1917) was a justice of the
New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the ...
from 1880 to 1900, serving as chief justice from 1897 to 1900.


Background

Magie was born on December 9, 1832, in
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
in Union County, where he resided during his life. He graduated from
Princeton College Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
in 1852 and studied law under an attorney in Elizabeth. 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 ...
of New Jersey in 1856. Magie was appointed to serve as the Prosecutor of
Union County, New Jersey Union County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 575,345, making it the seventh-most populous of New Jersey's 21 counties. Its county seat is Elizabeth.
, on April 3, 1866, and served for five years. That same year formed the law firm Magie & Frost in nearby
Somerville, New Jersey Somerville is a borough and the county seat of Somerset County, New Jersey, United States.New Je ...
. He was Republican Party member of
New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
from Union County from 1876 to 1878.


New Jersey courts

Magie was associate justice of New Jersey Supreme Court from 1880 to 1897, and chief justice from 1897 to 1900. From 1900 to 1908 he was Chancellor of New Jersey Chancery Court, which before the
Constitution of New Jersey The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the sta ...
was re-written in 1947, was the highest court in the state's court system.


Water purification trial

As Chancellor, in his role as
Special Master In the law of the United States, a special master is generally a subordinate official appointed by a judge to ensure judicial orders are followed, or in the alternative, to hear evidence on behalf of the judge and make recommendations to the jud ...
, Magie presided over the trail in 1908, the purpose of which was to determine if the chloride of lime system that had been installed by
Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.William T. Sedgwick, George C. Whipple, Earle B. Phelps, Charles-Edward A. Winslow and a number of other experts for the plaintiffs and John L. Leal,
George W. Fuller George Warren Fuller (December 21, 1868 – June 15, 1934) was an American sanitary engineer who was also trained in bacteriology and chemistry. His career extended from 1890 to 1934 and he was responsible for important innovations in water and ...
and Rudolph Hering (among others) for the defendants.Between the Mayor and Aldermen of Jersey City, Complainant, and Patrick H. Flynn and Jersey City Water Supply Company, Defendants: On Bill, etc. (In Chancery of New Jersey) 12 vols. n.p.: privately printed. 1908-10, 1-6987. Justice Magie issued his ruling on May 9, 1910, which was a victory for the defendants. Chlorine was an acceptable treatment for the removal of
pathogens In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...
from drinking water and for making the water "pure and wholesome" for human consumption.McGuire, Michael J. (2013). ''The Chlorine Revolution: Water Disinfection and the Fight to Save Lives'', Denver, CO: American Water Works Association. "I do therefore find and report that this device is capable of rendering the water delivered to Jersey City, pure and wholesome, for the purposes for which it is intended, and is effective in removing from the water those dangerous germs which were deemed by the decree to possibly exist therein at certain times." After the trial there was the wide introduction of chlorine for disinfection. Statistics on the typhoid fever death rate in the U.S. showed a dramatic decrease in deaths due to the disease
Filtration Filtration is a physical separation process that separates solid matter and fluid from a mixture using a ''filter medium'' that has a complex structure through which only the fluid can pass. Solid particles that cannot pass through the filter ...
of water supplies contributed to the decrease in the typhoid fever death rate but chlorination is generally acknowledged as having a major impact on increased life expectancy in the U.S.


Interment

He was interred at Evergreen Cemetery in
Hillside, New Jersey Hillside is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 21,404, reflecting a decline of 343 (−1.6%) from the 21,747 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in ...
.


See also

*
List of justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey Current justices , List of justices before 1947 Before 1947 and particularly after 1844, the structure of the New Jersey state judiciary was incredibly complex. In some cases, it is not entirely clear whether the following justices served on th ...
*
New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals Prior to 1947, the structure of the judiciary in New Jersey was extremely complex, including Court of Errors and Appeals in the last resort in all causes. The Court of Errors and Appeals was the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey from ...
*
Courts of New Jersey Courts of New Jersey include: ;State courts of New Jersey *New Jersey Supreme Court (previously the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals) **New Jersey Superior Court (including the Appellate Division; 15 vicinages) ** New Jersey Tax Court ** N ...


References


Further reading

*Magie, William J., (1910), In Chancery of New Jersey: Between the Mayor and Aldermen of Jersey City, Complainant, and the Jersey City Water Supply Co., Defendant. Report for Hon. W.J. Magie, special master on cost of sewers, etc., and on efficiency of sterilization plant at Boonton, Press Chronicle Co., Jersey City, New Jersey, (Case Number 27/475-Z-45-314), 1–15. *Magie, William J., (1917), ''New light on famous controversy in the history of Elizabethtown'' *https://thisdayinwaterhistory.wordpress.com/tag/little-falls-treatment-plant/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Magie, William J. 1832 births 1917 deaths Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey Republican Party New Jersey state senators Politicians from Elizabeth, New Jersey Princeton University alumni 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American legislators 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers