Alfred Dayton Oliphant (October 28, 1887 – June 25, 1963) was a Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1945 to 1946, and again from 1948 to 1957.

Biography

Oliphant was born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

on October 28, 1887, the son of Civil War General Samuel Duncan Oliphant and Elizabeth Van Dever (Dayton) Oliphant.Staff
"Dayton Oliphant, Ex-judge, 75, Dies. Headed Court of Errors and Appeals in New Jersey"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 27, 1963. Accessed July 2, 2016. After graduating from the

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...

, he received his BA from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and his Juris Doctor (J.D.)

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He married Marguerite A. Broughton on June 21, 1924. Oliphant was a Republican member of

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from Mercer County from 1915 to 1917 and Mercer County Prosecutor of the Pleas from 1918 to 1923. Oliphant was circuit judge for Hudson, Middlesex and Mercer counties from 1927 to 1945. He was an associate justice of New Jersey Supreme Court, 1945–46 and again from 1948 to 1957. He served as Chancellor of New Jersey

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

from 1946 to 1948 during the rewriting of the

Constitution of New Jersey The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the s ...

and the reorganization of the state court system. He died on June 25, 1963, in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

. He was interred in Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliphant, A. Dayton 1887 births 1963 deaths Lawrenceville School alumni Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey Lawyers from Princeton, New Jersey University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Princeton University alumni 20th-century New Jersey state court judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature

Biography

See also

References