Hugh Murray (judge)

Hugh Campbell Murray (April 22, 1825 – September 18, 1857) was an American lawyer and the third Chief Justice of California.

Life

Murray was born in St Louis, Missouri before his family moved to Alton, Illinois when he was a child.[1] Little is known of his schooling except that he almost certainly studied Latin. In 1846 he began studying at the law firm of N.D. Strong in Alton.[2] On March 8, 1847, following the outbreak of the Mexican–American War he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 14th Infantry Regiment. After the end of the war he resigned his commission on March 31, 1848, and returned to Alton to study.[1][2]

After completing his studies he was called to the Bar and moved to California, where he gained a large circle of friends and a lucrative practice as a lawyer. On January 8, 1850, at the age of 24, he was elected a member of the San Francisco ayuntamiento, and continued to work as a lawyer.[2] On April 20, 1850, he was made a Justice of the San Francisco Superior Court, and on October 11, 1851, at the age of 26, he was made a Justice of the Supreme Court of California, the youngest ever appointed.[1][3]

In 1852, upon the resignation of H. A. Lyons, he became Chief Justice at the age of 27, the youngest ever Chief Justice of California.[1][4] He was subsequently elected to another term as Chief Justice.[1] As Chief Justice, his annual salary in 1854 was US$8,000.[5]

As Chief Justice, he was noted for his dislike of changing the law through his decisions and for his irascible temper. Having heard that a man had called him "the meanest Chief Justice ever", Murray found the man and beat him with his cane.[6] He was consequently fined by the city recorder of Sacramento the sum of $50 plus costs.[7]

On September 18, 1857, he died in office of consumption.[8] He is interred in Sacramento Historic City Cemetery.[9]

Murray wrote the majority opinion of the court in People v. Hall, which Charles J. McClain describes as "containing some of the most offensive racial rhetoric to be found in the annals of California appellate jurisprudence".[10] His most elaborate opinion was also his last, the opinion in Welch v. Sullivan (8 Cal. 155).[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Oscar Tully Shuck (1901). "Hugh C. Murray". History of the bench and bar of California: being biographies of many remarkable men, a store of humorous and pathetic recollections, accounts of important legislation and extraordinary cases, comprehending the judicial history of the state. Western Americana (reprinted ed.). The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. pp. 436–437. ISBN 1584777060. 
  2. ^ a b c Whittlesey (1941) p.365
  3. ^ Whittlesey (1941) p.366
  4. ^ Whittlesey (1941) p.367
  5. ^ "California". The American almanac and repository of useful knowledge. Boston: Phillips, Sampson, and Company. 1854. pp. 313. 
  6. ^ Whittlesey (1941) p.368
  7. ^ John Lowell, ed (1857). "Miscellany". The Monthly law reporter, Volume 19. American periodical series, 1800–1850. 289–292. Boston: Crosby, Nichols, and Company. pp. 171. 
  8. ^ Whittlesey (1941) p.370
  9. ^ "Sacramento Historic City Cemetery Burial Index". Old City Cemetery Committee. 2005. http://www.oldcitycemetery.com/images/PDF/CemeteryIndex.pdf. Retrieved April 6, 2011. 
  10. ^ Charles J. McClain (1996). "California's First Anti-Chinese Laws". In Search of Equality: The Chinese Struggle Against Discrimination in Nineteenth-Century America. University of California Press. pp. 21. ISBN 0520205146. 

Bibliography

Legal offices
Preceded by
Henry A. Lyons		 Chief Justice of California
March 1852–September 1857		 Succeeded by
David S. Terry