James Scott (May 28, 1767 – March 2, 1855) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

, and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from the state of

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Scott served as one of the first Justices of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dec ...

from December 28, 1816, to December 28, 1830. He was also an important figure in the early history of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Biography

Early life and career

Born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, the details of Scott's early life are not well recorded.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is the law school of Indiana University Indianapolis, a public research university in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school has been based in Lawrence W. Inlow Hall in Indianapolis ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page
Scott left Pennsylvania and moved to

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

. Scott lived in Charlestown, where he helped found a

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

, held inside the local courthouse. In 1810,

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

, Governor of the Indiana Territory, appointed Scott to be Clark County's

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

. Scott was elected to the Indiana Territory's

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in 1813, where he served briefly as the

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the House before resigning to become a

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

judge. Scott was an unsuccessful candidate for United States senator in 1816. In 1816, Scott became one of forty-three delegate to Indiana's constitutional convention to help draft the new state's

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. The convention was held in Corydon. At the convention, Scott served as the chairman for a committee to draft the constitution's article on

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

. The committee would lay the groundwork for Indiana's

public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

system. He also chaired a committee on the constitution's judicial provisions.

Judicial service

Jonathan Jennings Jonathan Jennings (March 27, 1784 – July 26, 1834) was an American politician who was the first governor of the State of Indiana and a nine-term congressman from Indiana. Born in either Hunterdon County, New Jersey, or Rockbridge County, Vi ...

, Indiana's first state governor, appointed Scott to be a Justice on the newly created

. Scott was present at the Supreme Court's first meeting in Corydon on May 5, 1817. Scott and his fellow Justices heard the case ''

Polly v. Lasselle Polly Strong (–unknown) was an enslaved woman in the Northwest Territory, in present-day Indiana. She was born after the Northwest Ordinance prohibited slavery. Slavery was prohibited by the Constitution of Indiana in 1816. Two years later, Str ...

'' regarding slavery in Indiana. The case regarded the ownership of an enslaved woman, Polly, by General Hyacinth Laselle of

Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...

. The Supreme Court overturned a ruling by a Knox County court in favor of Laselles, demanding Polly be set free. Scott wrote the unanimous opinion of the court: "The framers of our constitution intended a total and entire prohibition of slavery in this State; and we can conceive of no form of words in which that intention could have been expressed more clearly". Scott was reappointed for a second term on the Supreme Court by Governor

William Hendricks William Hendricks (November 12, 1782 – May 16, 1850) was a Democratic-Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1816 to 1822, the List of governors of Indiana, third governor of Indiana from ...

. In 1827, while serving on the Supreme Court, the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

made Scott president of a team of five observers to visit Indiana State Seminary in Bloomington and report back to legislature on the success of the school and its students. Scott requested the Assembly upgrade the Seminary into a college. His request was granted by the Assembly and Indiana State Seminary became Indiana College (now known as

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

). In 1828, Scott was appointed to Indiana College's Board of Visitors, where he served as a liaison between the college and the Assembly. Scott would continue to be involved with the college after his tenure on the Supreme Court ended. Scott served on the college's

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

from 1841 to 1850. In 1844, Scott received an honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the college. Scott would serve on the Supreme Court until 1830, when he and his fellow Justice Jesse Holman were controversially replaced by Governor

James B. Ray James Brown Ray (February 19, 1794 – August 4, 1848) was an Indiana politician and the only Indiana Senate president pro tempore to be elevated to Governor of Indiana, governor of the U.S. state, state of Indiana. Ray served during a time whe ...

with Justices

Stephen Stevens Stephen C. Stevens (c. 1793 – November 7, 1870)Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices, ''Indiana Law Review'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced iIndiana Cour ...

and John T. McKinney, both state senators at the time. Many in the General Assembly were outraged by Scott and Holman's abrupt replacement, but both Stevens and McKinney were eventually confirmed by the legislature to serve on the Supreme Court. After leaving the Supreme Court, Scott returned to practice law in Charlestown. He also began to publish a local newspaper, the ''Comet''. Following William Henry Harrison's victory in the 1840 presidential election, Scott was hired as a registrar at the federal land office in Jeffersonville. He was fired following

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

's victory in the 1844 presidential election. Scott moved back to Charlestown and opened a girls' school.

Personal life and death

Scott was married but had no biological children. He and his wife adopted and raised a daughter. Shortly before his death, he relocated to

Carlisle, Indiana Carlisle is a town in Haddon Township, Sullivan County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 692 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area. Carlisle is home to the Wabash Valley Correctional ...

, where he died in 1855.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, James 1767 births 1855 deaths Members of the Indiana Territorial Legislature Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court People from Charlestown, Indiana Members of the Indiana House of Representatives American judges