Lorenzo Sawyer
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
who was appointed the Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
in 1860 and served as Chief Justice of California from 1868–70. He served as a circuit judge for the U.S. Circuit Courts for the Ninth Circuit beginning in 1870 and later served as the first judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
from June 1891 until his death.
Early years
Sawyer was born on a farm in Le Roy, New YorkLe Roy (town), New York
Le Roy, or more commonly LeRoy, is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The population was 7,790 at the 2000 census. The town is named after one of the original land owners, Herman Le Roy....
, the eldest of six children. He worked on the farm during the summer and attended the district school in winter. At the age of fifteen he attended, for a short time, a high school at Watertown, called the Black River Institute, where he became interested in the law. In 1837, having reached the age of seventeen, he went out on his own to pursue a course of study preparatory to commencing the study of law. The next eight years were devoted to preparation for the bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
, at first in New York and afterward in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. To support himself during this period, he taught in the district schools, and afterward in academies and as a tutor in college.
Career
In 1840 he emigrated to Ohio, where he pursued his studies for a time at the Western Reserve CollegeCase Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
, and afterward continued his studies at Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
and at Central College of Ohio near Columbus. He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Ohio
Supreme Court of Ohio
The Supreme Court of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, each serving six-year terms...
in May 1846. He afterward went to Chicago, Illinois, where he passed a year in the office of future California Senator James A. McDougall
James A. McDougall
James Alexander McDougall was an American attorney and politician elected to statewide office in two U.S. states, then to the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate...
. Soon afterward he entered into a law partnership with the Lieutenant-Governor John Edwin Holmes
John Edwin Holmes
John Edwin Holmes was the first Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. He was born in Glastonbury, Connecticut. He was ordained a Universalist minister in 1833 and preached for a short time in Michigan and Ohio. He soon began to study law in Illinois and joined the Democratic Party...
at Jefferson, Wisconsin
Jefferson, Wisconsin
Jefferson is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, and is its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the Rock and Crawfish Rivers. The population was 7,338 at the 2000 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Jefferson.-History:...
, where he was rapidly acquiring an extensive and lucrative practice, when the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
happened.
Joining a company of men from Wisconsin, he made his way across the country in seventy-two days, arriving in California about the middle of July 1850 in "an unprecedentedly short trip". He wrote sketches of this trip, which were published in the Ohio Observer, and copied into many of the western papers. They were highly appreciated and were used as a guide by many emigrants of the succeeding year. After working in the mines for a short time, he went to Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
and opened a law office there. Ill health, however, compelled him to seek the climate of the mountains, and accordingly he moved to Nevada City
Nevada City, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Nevada City had a population of 3,068. The population density was 1,399.7 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Nevada City was 2,837 White, 26 African American, 28 Native American, 46 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 40 from other races,...
and entered upon the practice of law in October of that year, his law library consisting of eleven volumes which he had brought across the plains. With the exception of a few months from February to August 1851 passed in San Francisco, during which time his office was twice burned, he remained in Nevada City until the autumn of 1853, when he returned to San Francisco. In 1853 he was elected City Attorney.
In 1855 he was a candidate for Justice of the Supreme Court, and came within six votes of reaching the nomination. In the spring of 1861 he formed a law partnership with the General C. H. S. Williams, and in the winter of 1861-62 they determined to open a branch office in Virginia City, Nevada
Virginia City, Nevada
Virginia City is a census-designated place that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 855 at the 2010 Census.- History :...
. Sawyer went to Virginia City in January 1862 to open the office and establish the business, and while there Governor Leland Stanford
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
of California offered him the appointment of City and County Attorney of San Francisco, which he declined. In June 1862, he was offered a vacant spot in the office of Judge of the Twelfth Judicial District, embracing the city and county of San Mateo
San Mateo, California
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
, which he accepted, and he was unanimously reelected to office when his first term was up, both political parties giving him their support.
Upon the reorganization of the State courts, under the amended constitution, Judge Sawyer was in 1863 elected a justice of the Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
, and drew a six-year term, during the last two years of which he was Chief Justice. During his term, he was noted for the thoroughness and elaborateness of his decisions and held in high regard.
In 1869, Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
passed an act to amend the judicial system of the United States, by which the United States Circuit Courts were reorganized—the appointment of a circuit judge for each of the nine circuits being provided for. In December of that year, as the term of Chief Justice Sawyer was about to expire, President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
nominated him to the United States circuit court
United States circuit court
The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdiction and major federal crimes. They also had appellate...
for the Ninth Circuit (which later became the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
). Sawyer was confirmed by the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1870. In 1884, he handed down what became known as the Sawyer Decision in Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company
North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company
The North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company of North Bloomfield, California, was established in 1866 and operated a hydraulic gold-mining operation at the Malakoff Mine subsequent to the California Gold Rush...
which abruptly ended hydraulic mining
Hydraulic mining
Hydraulic mining, or hydraulicking, is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment. In the placer mining of gold or tin, the resulting water-sediment slurry is directed through sluice boxes to remove the gold.-Precursor - ground...
in Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
's Gold Country
Gold Country
Gold Country is a region in the central and northeastern part of California, United States. It is famed for the mineral deposits and gold mines that attracted waves of immigrants, known as the 49ers, during the 1849 California Gold Rush.-Geography:State Route 49 was built through the Gold Country,...
.
He served on the court until his death in 1891.