John Randolph Sharpstein (May 3, 1823 – December 28, 1892) was an American lawyer and judge. He was an associate justice of the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

for twelve years, and previously served as a member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after ...

and

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms ...

Biography

Sharpstein was born on May 3 or May 23, 1823 in

Richmond, New York Richmond is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 3,380 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Abigail Richmond Pitts, an early settler. The town of Richmond is on the western border of the county, south of ...

. In 1847, he moved to

Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Sheboygan County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan. The county was created in 1836 and organized in 1846. At th ...

. Sharpstein was a member of the

from 1852 to 1853, representing the 16th district in 1852 and the

8th district 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of the ...

in 1853. He was a member of the

in 1863. Sharpstein was a District Attorney of Sheboygan County and of Kenosha County, Wisconsin. From 1853 to 1857, he was U.S Attorney of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. In 1854, he represented the government in the fugitive slave cases, '' Ableman v. Booth'' and ''

United States v. Booth ''Ableman v. Booth'', 62 U.S. (21 How.) 506 (1859), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously held that state courts cannot issue rulings that contradict the decisions of federal courts,Hoiberg, Dale H. (2010) overtur ...

'' (18 How. 476, 21 How. 506), appealing up to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

, where Chief Justice

Roger Taney Roger Brooke Taney (; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Although an opponent of slavery, believing it to be an evil practice, Taney belie ...

wrote the unanimous opinion. In April 1857, Sharpstein became Postmaster of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, and then was a delegate to the

1860 Democratic National Convention The 1860 Democratic National Conventions were a series of presidential nominating conventions held to nominate the Democratic Party's candidates for president and vice president in the 1860 election. The first convention, held from April 23 to ...

. In 1864, Sharpstein moved to California, was admitted to the California bar in January 1865, and began practicing law there. In 1872, he published a book on insurance law. In January 1874, Governor

Newton Booth Newton Booth (December 30, 1825July 14, 1892) was an American entrepreneur and politician. Early life Born to Hannah (née Pitts) of North Carolina and Beebe Booth

appointed Sharpstein a judge of the Twelfth District Court in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, replacing

Elisha W. McKinstry Elisha Williams McKinstry (April 10, 1824 – November 1, 1901) was a California jurist of the nineteenth century. He served as a justice of the California Supreme Court from 1874 to 1888. Biography McKinstry was born April 10, 1824, in De ...

. In October 1875, he ran for election on the Republican ticket but lost the election to the district court to William E. Daingerfield. In July 1878, Sharpstein was nominated by the Workingmen's Party and elected as a member of the

Constitutional Convention Constitutional convention may refer to: * Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement *Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...

from the First Congressional District. In October 1879, when adoption of a new

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

required elections for all Supreme Court seats, Sharpstein was nominated by

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and Workingmen's parties and won a position as associate justice. When the term began January 5, 1880, the justices drew lots to determine their length of term, and he and

Erskine M. Ross Erskine Mayo Ross (June 30, 1845 – December 10, 1928) was an American attorney and jurist from California. He served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and of the United States Circuit C ...

both drew three-year terms. In November 1882, both Ross and Sharpstein were re-elected on the Democratic ticket to 12-year terms. Among Sharpstein's notable opinions is '' Tape v. Hurley'', 66 Cal. 473 (1885), holding the City of San Francisco excluding a Chinese child from public school violated the California Constitution. In July 1886, former Chief Justice David S. Terry filed a petition which unsuccessfully sought the removal of both Chief Justice

Robert F. Morrison Robert Francis Morrison (August 16, 1826 – March 2, 1887) was the 13th Chief Justice of California from November 1879 to March 2, 1887, when he died in office. Biography Morrison was born on August 16, 1826, in Kaskaskia, Illinois. He serve ...

and Sharpstein on the basis of incompetence due to age. Sharpstein remained a member of the court until his death on December 28, 1892.

Civic activities

In 1878, Sharpstein was a member of the first board of trustees of the Hastings College of the Law.

Personal life

On November 17, 1845, Sharpstein married Catherine C. Crittenden in Macomb, Michigan. They had two daughters, who both died young in Michigan, and two sons, Jay Pitt Sharpstein, who lived in Berkeley, and William Crittenden Sharpstein, who graduated from Hastings College of Law and became an attorney.

References

Selected publications

External links