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Edward V. Whiton

American judge, first elected Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court

The Honorable Edward V. Whiton
Edward Vernon Whiton
3rd Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office January 3, 1852 – April 12, 1859
Preceded by	Levi Hubbell
Succeeded by	Luther S. Dixon
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
ex officio
In office September 1, 1848 – June 1, 1853
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the 1st Circuit
In office September 1, 1848 – June 1, 1853
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Wyman Spooner
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory
In office December 2, 1839 – August 2, 1840
Preceded by	Lucius Israel Barber
Succeeded by	Nelson Dewey
Member of the Council of the Wisconsin Territory for Rock & Walworth counties
In office December 5, 1842 – January 4, 1847 Serving with Charles Minton Baker
Succeeded by	Position Abolished
Member of the House of Representatives of the Wisconsin Territory for Rock & Walworth counties
In office November 26, 1838 – December 5, 1842
Personal details
Born	Edward Vernon Whiton (1805-06-02)June 2, 1805 South Lee, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	April 12, 1859(1859-04-12) (aged 53) Janesville, Wisconsin
Resting place	Oak Hill Cemetery Janesville, Wisconsin
Political party	Republican Whig (before 1854)
Spouses	Amoret Dimock (m. 1847; died 1902)
Children	Fanny Whiton (died young) Edward D. Whiton (died young) Catherine Whiton (died young) Edward Vernon Whiton (b. 1852; died 1900)

Edward Vernon Whiton (June 2, 1805 – April 12, 1859) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was the first elected Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (3rd overall), serving on the Supreme Court from its creating in 1848 until his death in 1859. He had previously served in the Wisconsin Territory legislature and was a framer of Wisconsin's constitution.

Biography[edit]

Born in South Lee, Massachusetts, the son of General Joseph Whiton, who had served in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.^[1] Whiton moved to Janesville, in the Wisconsin Territory, in 1836, where he practiced law.^[2]

From 1838 to 1842, he served as a Representative to the Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory, and served as speaker for the 3rd Session of the 2nd Assembly (1840). From 1842 through 1846, he served in the Wisconsin Territorial Council (Upper House).^[1][3][2]

In 1847, Whiton was elected to the second Wisconsin Constitutional Convention. In the 1848 election in which Wisconsin voters ratified the new constitution, Whiton was also elected to become one of the first Wisconsin Circuit Court judges under the new constitution. This also made Whiton a member of the first Supreme Court of Wisconsin, which was at that time composed of the state's elected Circuit Court Judges.^[1] On January 3, 1852, the circuit court judges together elected Judge Mortimer M. Jackson as the next chief justice, but when he declined the office, Whiton was chosen.^[2]

In 1852, the Wisconsin Legislature voted to create a new Supreme Court, distinct from the Circuit Courts.^[4] Later that year, Whiton was elected the first chief justice of that newly formed Supreme Court, defeating Democrat Charles H. Larrabee.^[1] Whiton served as chief justice until his death in 1859, having been re-elected in 1857.^[5][6]

Supreme Court[edit]

In the "Booth cases" of 1854 (Ableman v. Booth) and 1855 (In Re: Booth and Ryecraft), Whiton issued significant opinions in favor of states' rightstonullification of federal laws. The Booth cases centered on Milwaukee abolitionists Sherman Booth and John Ryecraft, who were charged under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 with aiding the escape of Joshua Glover to Canada. Booth was arrested by U.S. Marshall Stephen Ableman, but sought a writ of habeas corpus from a Wisconsin court. The court granted the writ, and Ableman appealed the ruling to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Whiton wrote in the majority, with Justice Abram D. Smith, that the Fugitive Slave Act was unconstitutional, and affirmed that Booth should be released.^[7] The U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Wisconsin decision, asserting the supremacy clause and ruling that the power of the State of Wisconsin "is limited and restricted by the Constitution of the United States." The Wisconsin Supreme Court refused to file the U.S. Court's mandate—and never has.^[8] The case significantly inflamed abolitionist passions in Wisconsin in the run-up to the American Civil War. Booth was ultimately pardoned in the final days of the presidency of James Buchanan.

In the 1856 Bashford v. Barstow case, Whiton effectively decided the outcome of the 1855 Wisconsin gubernatorial election. Initially, Democrat William A. Barstow, the incumbent Governor, appeared to be the winner by a mere 157 votes. His opponent, Republican Coles Bashford challenged the result as fraudulent, an allegation which was borne out by the discovery of fabricated votes from non-existent precincts. Barstow argued that as head of the executive branch, he had the authority to count the votes and certify the results, and that the legislative and judicial branches could not interfere. The Court ruled that, according to the Wisconsin Constitution, it was the election, not the canvass, which determined the right to the office. After the ruling, Barstow's militia, which had been prepared to enforce his election with violence, began to disperse. Barstow relented, and Bashford was eventually allowed to take office as the 5th Governor of Wisconsin. The case was an important precedent for the Supreme Court as the ultimate arbiter of the law in Wisconsin.^[9]

In 1859 his health began to fail. He took a leave from the Court in the spring of 1859 and died at his home in Janesville on April 12, 1859.

Personal life and family[edit]

Whiton married Amoret Dimock in 1847. They had four children together, but only one survived to adulthood.

Electoral history[edit]

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1852)[edit]

References[edit]