Luther S. Dixon

Luther Swift Dixon (June 17, 1825 – December 6, 1891) was an American lawyer and judge, and was the 4th Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[1]

The Honorable Luther S. Dixon
4th Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office April 19, 1859 – June 17, 1874
Appointed by	Alexander Randall
Preceded by	Edward V. Whiton
Succeeded by	Edward George Ryan
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 9th Circuit
In office September 5, 1858 – April 19, 1859
Appointed by	Alexander Randall
Preceded by	Alexander L. Collins
Succeeded by	Harlow S. Orton
District Attorney of Columbia County
In office January 1, 1853 – December 31, 1856
Preceded by	Amasa G. Cook
Succeeded by	Levi W. Barden
Personal details
Born	June 17, 1825 Milton, Vermont, U.S.
Died	December 6, 1891 (aged 66) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery Madison, Wisconsin
Political party	Republican (until 1860) Independent
Spouse(s)	Mary Eliza Woods (died 1893)
Children	Henry Woods Dixon ^(b. 1853; died 1888) Luther Swift Dixon ^(b. 1860; died 1860) William A. Dixon ^(b. 1862; died 1909) Edward L. Dixon ^(b. 1864; died 1904) Daisy Dixon ^(b. 1866; died 1906)
Mother	Sarah (Seeger) Dixon
Father	Luther Dixon
Profession	lawyer, judge

Early life and career

Dixon was born in Milton, Vermont, the son of Luther and Sarah (Seeger) Dixon.[2] After obtaining a common school education, he studied law under Luke P. Poland, a judge on the Supreme Court of Vermont, who would later represent Vermont as a United States Senator and Congressman. Dixon was admitted to the bar in 1850.

In 1851, Dixon traveled to Wisconsin and settled in Portage, in Columbia County, and started a legal practice. In 1852, Dixon was elected District Attorney of Columbia County, for a two-year term commencing January 1, 1853. He was re-elected for another two year term in 1854.[3]

State of Wisconsin vs. John B. DuBay

In the year after his term as District Attorney expired, Dixon earned wide recognition for his prosecution of John Baptiste DuBay in his murder trial. DuBay had been involved in a property dispute with William Reynolds, and killed him after a confrontation.[4] DuBay was a prominent character in the Wisconsin Territory and the early years of statehood. He was a celebrated pioneer character, connected to the American Fur Company, which was one of the most powerful businesses in the Wisconsin Territory. He was part French Canadian, part Menominee Indian, and served as an interpreter for many important negotiations with Wisconsin's Native American communities.[4]

DuBay's attorneys were both esteemed lawyers and prominent politicians—Moses M. Strong had been Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, and had famously secured the acquittal of James Russell Vineyard after he had killed a fellow representative on the floor of the territorial legislature; Harlow S. Orton had been an attorney for Governor Coles Bashford when he successfully challenged the results of the 1855 Wisconsin gubernatorial election. The judge in the case, Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Alexander L. Collins, gave wide deference to the defense to bring in a number of prominent Wisconsin pioneers and statesmen to testify to the character of the defendant.[4]

DuBay was ultimately acquitted, but Dixon's reputation was secure. Within a year, he would take the place of the judge who had presided over the case, and within two years he would be Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Dixon later summarized that the real defendant in the trial was the "pioneer spirit," and that DuBay's crimes went unpunished due to a parade of prominent Wisconsin pioneer character witnesses, which muddied the facts of the crime.[4]

Wisconsin judiciary

Bust of Justice Dixon at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin.

In 1858, Alexander Collins resigned his seat as Judge of the 9th Circuit. The new Governor, Alexander Randall, appointed Dixon to the seat, which had jurisdiction over Columbia, Dane, Jefferson, and Sauk counties.

Less than a year later, in April 1859, Chief Justice Edward V. Whiton died suddenly. Governor Randall again turned to Dixon, naming him Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court at the age of 33.[5]

Only months after his appointment as Chief Justice, Dixon ran into controversy when he dissented from the majority of the court which had voted to ignore the ruling of the United States Supreme Court in the case of Ableman v. Booth. The Wisconsin Supreme Court had previously ruled that the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was unconstitutional, a position which was popular with the ascendant abolitionist Republican party in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court overruled the Wisconsin Court, ruling that state courts could not annul federal laws. Dixon wrote in favor of accepting the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, stating that while he personally believed the Fugitive Slave Act was unconstitutional, he agreed with the federal court's interpretation of their jurisdiction.[6]

His dissent resulted in him losing the support of the Republican Party for his re-election in 1860. Nevertheless, he was able to obtain re-election as an independent. And was re-elected two more times after that.

Dixon resigned from the court in 1874 to return to private legal practice. He distinguished himself again in this phase, representing the State of Wisconsin in upholding the constitutionality of the state's railroad regulation "Granger" laws.[6]

Family and personal life

Luther Dixon married Mary Eliza Woods. They had five children together, though only four survived to adulthood.

Dixon suffered from asthma and moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1879 for the health benefits, though he maintained a home in Wisconsin as well. He died in 1891 while visiting Milwaukee on his way back from a trip to Washington, D.C.[7]

References

1. "Dixon". Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
2. "Luther S. Dixon". Wisconsin Court System. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
3. The History of Columbia County, Wisconsin. Western Historical Company. 1880. pp. 92, 93, 101, 103, 387, 447. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
4. Stark, Jack (1992). "A Case of Frontier Justice: The State of Wisconsin v. DuBay". Wisconsin Academy Review. 38 (3). Retrieved June 18, 2019.
5. Proceedings of the State Bar Association of Wisconsin (Report). 1901. p. 242. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
6. "Dixon, Luther Swift 1825 - 1891". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
7. Berryman, John R., ed. (1898). History of the Bench and Bar of Wisconsin, Volume 1. H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co. pp. 121–133. Retrieved June 18, 2019.