Simon Greenleaf

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Simon Greenleaf (December 5, 1783 – October 6, 1853), American jurist, was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was born to Jewish parents, although he later considered himself to be agnostic before studying the Gospels and converting to Christianity.

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[edit] Early life and legal career

When a child he was taken by his father to Maine, where he studied law, and in 1806 began to practice at Standish. He soon removed to Gray, where he practised for twelve years, and in 1818 removed to Portland. Greenleaf's political preferences were aligned with the Federalist party, and in 1816 he was an unsuccessful candidate for that party in Cumberland County for the Senate. He was reporter of the Supreme Court of Maine from 1820 to 1832, and published nine volumes of Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Maine (1822-1835).

[edit] Royal professor of law

In 1833 he became Royal professor, and in 1846 succeeded Judge Joseph Story as Dane professor of law in Harvard University. Greenleaf was one of the principal founders of the Harvard Law School. He was retained as chief counsel by the Warren Bridge group in the US Supreme Court case Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge 36 U.S. 420 (1837)[1], where the case laid down the rule that public contracts must be construed in favor of states.

In 1848, Greenleaf retired from his active duties, and became professor emeritus. After being for many years president of the Massachusetts Bible Society, he died at Cambridge, Mass. Greenleaf's well-known work, a Treatise on the Law of Evidence, is considered a classic of American jurisprudence. Greenleaf prepared the original constitution of the Colony of Liberia.

[edit] Contributions to Christian Apologetics

Greenleaf is an important figure in the development of that Christian school of thought known as legal or juridical apologetics. This school of thought is typified by legally trained scholars applying the canons of proof and argument to the defence of Christian belief. Greenleaf's book The Testimony of the Evangelists set the model for many subsequent works by legal apologists. He is distinguished as one who applied the canons of the ancient document rule to establish the authenticity of the gospel accounts, as well as cross-examination principles in assessing the testimony of those who bore witness to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. His style of reasoning is reflected in the apologetic works by John Warwick Montgomery, Josh McDowell and Ross Clifford.

Greenleaf's principal work is a Treatise on the Law of Evidence (15 vols., 1842-1853). He also published A Full Collection of Cases Overruled, Denied, Doubted, or Limited in their Application, taken from American and English Reports (1821), and Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence administered in the Courts of Justice, with an account of the Trial of Jesus (1846; London, 1847). He revised for the American courts William Cruise's Digest of Laws respecting Real Property (3 vols., 1849-1850).

Mentioned by actor Corbin Bernsen, playing Mitch Kendrick, in Judgment (a.k.a. Apocalypse IV)(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0257408/).

[edit] The Simon Greenleaf School of Law

In 1980 a law school opened in Anaheim, California that was named in his honor, The Simon Greenleaf School of Law. This school was founded by the Evangelical theologian-lawyer John Warwick Montgomery. From 1980-88 the law school published a journal named The Simon Greenleaf Law Review. In 1997 the law school became part of Trinity International University.

[edit] See also

[edit] Topics

[edit] Apologists

[edit] References

  1. ^ 36 U.S. 420 (1837) Full text of Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge

[edit] External links

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