James Dandridge Halyburton (February 23, 1803 – January 26, 1879) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roa ...

Education and career

Born on February 23, 1803, in

New Kent County New Kent County is a county in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 22,945. Its county seat is New Kent. New Kent County is located east of the Greater Richmond Region ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, Halyburton received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1823 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and attended the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

. He entered private practice in New Kent County starting in 1824. He was a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

. He was a commonwealth's attorney for New Kent County until 1844.

Federal judicial service

Halyburton was nominated by President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...

on June 15, 1844, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

John Y. Mason John Young Mason (April 18, 1799October 3, 1859) was an attorney, planter, judge and politician from Virginia. Mason served in the U.S. House of Representatives after serving in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, then became the Unit ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on June 15, 1844, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on April 24, 1861, due to his resignation.

Later career and death

Following his resignation from the federal bench, Halyburton served as a Judge of the Confederate District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia from 1861 to 1865. He resumed private practice in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, Virginia from 1865 to 1874. He was a Professor of law at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

from 1867 to 1874. He died on January 26, 1879, in Richmond. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery.

References

Sources

* * W. H. Bryson, comp., Legal Education in Virginia (1982), pp. 273–276. {{DEFAULTSORT:Halyburton, James Dandridge 1803 births 1879 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia) Harvard College alumni Judges of the Confederate States of America Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from New Kent County, Virginia United States federal judges appointed by John Tyler University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers