John Carroll LeGrand (1814 – December 28, 1861) was an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...

and jurist who served as

chief judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

of the supreme court of the U.S. state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, the

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

, and as

Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates The Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates presides as speaker over the House of Delegates in the state of Maryland in the United States. List of speakers Footnotes References Maryland State Archives - House of Delegates Records ...

Early life

LeGrand was born in 1814, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

to Samuel D. LeGrand. He attended private school, studied law under

James M. Buchanan James McGill Buchanan Jr. (; October 3, 1919 – January 9, 2013) was an American economist known for his work on public choice theory originally outlined in his most famous work co-authored with Gordon Tullock in 1962, ''The Calculus of Consen ...

, and was admitted to the bar around 1837. LeGrand served as a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

from 1839 to 1841, including a period as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

in 1841. He later served as

Secretary of State of Maryland The secretary of state of Maryland is charged with the administrative and record-keeping functions of the state government of the U.S. state of Maryland. The secretary of state also holds custody of the Seal of Maryland. Unlike in many state ...

from 1842 to 1844, and wrote a book, ''Oration on the Landing of the Pilgrims of Maryland'' which was published in May 1843. From 1844 to 1851, LeGrand served as Associate Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Maryland. In 1851, he was appointed Chief Judge of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The court, which is compose ...

, where he served until 1861. LeGrand was defeated for re-election by Unionist candidate Silas Morris Cochran, after a letter he wrote to the '' Baltimore Sun'' calling for Maryland to secede from the United States was publicized. LeGrand never married. He died on December 28, 1861, and is interred in

Green Mount Cemetery Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as man ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legrand, John Carroll Chief Judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals Secretaries of State of Maryland Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates Politicians from Baltimore Maryland lawyers United States Department of the Treasury officials 1814 births 1861 deaths Lawyers from Baltimore 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers