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 Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the judiciary of California, courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly ...

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 Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

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 (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is named after the Sheboygan River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 118,034. Its county seat is Sheboygan, Wisconsi ...

. Sharpstein was a member of the

from 1852 to 1853, representing the 16th district in 1852 and the 8th district in 1853. He was a member of the

in 1863. Sharpstein was a District Attorney of Sheboygan County and of

Kenosha County, Wisconsin Kenosha County () is located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,151, and was estimated to be 168,754 in 2024, making it the eighth-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its c ...

. From 1853 to 1857, he was U.S Attorney of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. In 1854, he represented the government in the fugitive slave cases, '' Ableman v. Booth'' and '' United States v. Booth'' (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 Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

, where Chief Justice

Roger Taney Roger Brooke Taney ( ; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Taney delivered the majority opin ...

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

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 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 ...

. 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 who served as the 11th governor of California from 1871 to 1875 and as U.S. Senator from California from 1875 to 1881. He was the only member of the Anti-Mo ...

appointed Sharpstein a judge of the Twelfth District Court in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, replacing Elisha W. McKinstry. 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 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, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

required elections for all Supreme Court seats, Sharpstein was nominated by 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 David Smith Terry (March 8, 1823 – August 14, 1889) was an American politician and jurist who served as the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court of California; he was an author of the state's 1879 Constitution. Terry killed U.S. Se ...

filed a petition which unsuccessfully sought the removal of both Chief Justice Robert F. Morrison 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 The University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (abbreviated as UC Law SF or UC Law) is a Public university, public Law school in the United States, law school in San Francisco, California, United States. It was known as the Univ ...

Personal life

On November 17, 1845, Sharpstein married Catherine C. Crittenden in

Macomb, Michigan Macomb Township is a civil township of Macomb County, Michigan, Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 91,663 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 79,580 in 2010 United States census, 2010. As of 2020 it ...

. They had two daughters, who both died young in Michigan, and two sons, Jay Pitt Sharpstein, who lived in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

, and William Crittenden Sharpstein, who graduated from Hastings College of Law and became an attorney.

References

Selected publications

External links