USA > Indiana > Courts and lawyers of Indiana, Volume II > Part 8
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1912-Louis B. Ewbank, "The Trial Court."
1912-Chas. E. Cox, "Old Ways or Uncertain Seas."
1913-Harry C. Sheridan, "Comments on the Bankruptcy Act."
1913-Samuel E. Cook, "Our Federal Constitution : Some of the Struggles Over Its Meaning."
1913-Merrill Moores, "The Selection of Judges."
1914-Stuart MacKibbin, "Some Observations Regarding the Indiana Utility Commission Act."
1914-Daniel W. Simms, "Employers' Liability Legislation of 1911."
1914-Evans Woollen, "The American Doctrine of Unconstitutionality."
1915-William J. Houck, "The Evolution of Jurisprudence."
1915-Harry B. Tutthill, "Stub Beltz Runs for Circuit Judge."
1915-William A. Hough, "The Law and the Telephone."
1915-Richard M. Milburn, "The Fourteenth Amendment."
In addition to the State Bar Association, which enrolls about six hundred members, representing practically every county in the state, there are thirty-five county associations and three city associations. These various associations have annual meetings at which papers are read and discussed. These county and city associations as listed in the last report of the State Bar Association are as follows: Adams, Allen, Bartholomew, Clark, Clinton, Dearborn, Delaware, Elkhart (city and county), Gibson, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Howard, Huntington, Indianapolis, Jackson, Jasper, Jay, Johnson, Knox, Lake, Laporte, Morgan, Porter, Putnam, Ran- dolph, Shelby, St. Joseph, Starke, Sullivan, Tipton, Evansville, Vermillion and Wabash.
CHAPTER XVII.
LEGAL EDUCATION IN INDIANA.
Legal education in Indiana has never been dealt with very positively by the Indiana Legislature. There have always been some requirements, legal or otherwise, for admission to the bar. Strange to say, the requirements are not as high now as they were at the very beginning of the territorial existence of the State. The following law of the Governor and Judges governed admission to the bar in the early territorial days, and while not as strict as the requirements in the Northwest Territory, it still represents a substantial preparation for the profession.
Sec. 1. Be it enacted, That from and after the first day of January next [1793] no person shall be admitted or practice as an attorney in any of the courts of this territory unless he is a person of good moral char- acter and well affected to the government of the United States and of this territory and shall pass an examination of his professional abilities before one or more of the territorial Judges and obtain from him or them before whom he may be examined a certificate of possessing the proper abilities and qualifications to render him useful in the office of an attorney. And further, he shall in open court have taken and subscribed the oath pre- scribed to all officers by an act of the United States and an oath in tenor following :
"I swear that I will do no falsehood nor consent to the dolng of any in the courts of justice and if I know of an intention to commit any I will give knowledge thereof to the justices of the said courts or some of them that it may be prevented. I will not wittingly or willingly pro- mote or sue any false. groundless or unlawful suit nor give aid or consent to the same, and I will conduct myself In the office of an attorney within the said courts according to the best of my knowledge and discretion and with all good fidelity as well to the courts as my clients. So help me God."
Sec. 2. And it is enacted, that parties may plead and manage their own canses personally or by the assistance of such counsel as they shall see fit to engage, but the plaintiff or plaintiffs in any suit shall not be allowed to manage their canse by more than two attorneys nor shall any defendant employ a greater number. Provided, that where there shall be only two attorneys attending the courts in any of the counties of this territory neither the plaintiff nor defendant shall be allowed more thap
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one nor in any cause shall fees for more than one attorney be taxed or allowed.
Signed : WINTHROP SARGENT. JOHN CLEVES SYMMES. RUFUS PUTNAM.
From above date down to 1807, the time of the John Rice Jones Revision, the requirement for admission to the bar was considerably lowered, as is shown by the following statute taken from the Revision of 1807:
1. No person shall be permitted to practice as an attorney or Coun- sellor at Law, or to commence, conduct, or defend any action, suit or plaint, in which he is not a party concerned, in any court of record within this Territory, either by using, or subscribing his own name, or the name of any other person, without having previously obtained a license for that purpose from any two of the Judges of the General Court, which license shall constitute the person receiving the same, an Attorney and Counsellor at Law, and shall authorize him to appear in all the courts of record within this Territory, and there to practice as an attorney and counsellor at law, according to the laws and customs thereof, for, and during his good behavior in the said practice, and to demand and receive all such fees as are, or thereafter may be established, for any service which he shall, or may do, as an attorney, and counsellor at law in the said Territory ..
2. No person shall be entitled to receive a license as aforesaid, until he hath obtained a certificate from the court of some county, of his good moral character.
The long struggle of a century for higher qualifications to enter the profession is not without historical significance. There was among the early settlers of Indiana a deep-seated distrust of expert knowledge or service. Their experience with the English court lawyers under the Stuarts had not been more palatable than their experience with preachers ap- pointed in the state, or with royal governors in America. During the hundred years of their migration across the Alle- ghanies they had become accustomed to the pioneer lawyer of the Jackson type and the turbulent courts. They instinctively feared the toils of the Common Law. Its mysterious processes and intricacies, especially in connection with real estate, always seemed to work to the disadvantage of the poor man. Not hundreds but thousands of settlers in early Tennessee and Kentucky lost their lands, not because of a lawyer, but for lack of legal advice. The land company or large purchaser
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invariably employed a competent attorney, while the poor set- tler, if he had any attorneys at all, had some backwoods shyster who depended on an oily tongue to win his case. In criminal cases these loud-mouthed lawyers often won, but in the far more important field of the real estate law they were a failure. They assured their clients that their defeats were due to some collusion between the lawyer and court, since- the important questions in land cases had to be tried before the court rather than the jury. A large number of these ousted settlers from Kentucky and Tennessee came to Indiana in the early days.
The Western folks had two patron saints in all public con- cerns. They were Jefferson and Jackson. These men ap- pealed to the two classes of settlers. The men who made the Constitution of 1816 drew their political inspiration directly from reading Jefferson's writings. They were followers of Jefferson because, after mature deliberation, they believed in his political philosophy. There can hardly be a doubt but that they contemplated a school of law as one of the constituent schools of their State University. Such men as Joseph Hol- man, Robert Hanna, David Maxwell, James Scott, Davis Floyd, William Polke, and especially Benjamin Parke, showed plainly in later life that such was their ideal.
Before the state was financially able to carry out these early ideals of a State University, another tremendous force had entered Indiana's political life. This was the second force mentioned above-Jacksonian Democracy. The views of Jackson found ready acceptance instinctively among the west- ern settlers. Jackson was not altogether responsible for the democracy which bore his name, but he better than anyone else expressed it. This spirit, or force, or prejudice, or what- ever it may be called, was opposed to professionalism and to professional schools; partly because they tended to make classes in society and partly because a professional man was a menace to the plain people. With such instinctive opposition as this, it was found very difficult to found a law school in Indiana.
The pioneer law school in the state was that of Indiana University. It seems certain that it was in the minds of the trustees of the university from the start to establish a law
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school, but no definite attempt seems to have been made until about 1835. The exact date cannot be ascertained because the records were lost in the fire of 1883.
The following loose note, apropos of the first law depart- ment of the university, may throw some light on the situation :
Resolved, that in the opinion of the board a professorship of law should be established, to be connected with the college.
That the law term should consist of four months, from December 1 to March 31.
That the salary of the professor shall be three hundred dollars, to be paid as other salaries of the college officers, and that he also be entitled to dispose of lecture tickets for his own benefit, the price of which shall not exceed ten dollars per term.
From the names connected with this it is certain that it happened between 1835 and 1838. Isaac Blackford, then a justice of the Supreme court, was unanimously elected as the first professor. No further account of this transaction can be found, but it is certain that Judge Blackford did not ac- cept. It was not, of course, expected that he would resign his position on the bench for a three hundred dollar professor- ship, but it was thought that he could unite the two positions. No doubt the fifty miles of wilderness between Indianapolis and Bloomington had something to do with his refusal.
Again there is a memorandum preserved to the effect that on September 20, 1837, the board elected Charles Lewis pro- fessor of law. Who Lewis was, does not appear.
In 1838 Indiana College became Indiana University. At the very first meeting of the university board, under date of September 25, 1838, Judge Miles C. Eggleston was chosen professor of law, but he was either unable or unwilling to accept. A number of other lawyers in the state were offered the position, but no one accepted. Things thus went on till 1841, when Tilghman A. Howard was elected. He had been a resident of Bloomington and as a large number of his rela- tives were still living there, it was thought he would accept- but he did not. However, in the same year, Judge David McDonald, then on the Monroe Circuit bench, was elected, and became the first professor of law in Indiana. In 1843 there were five graduates and in 1844 there were eight.
This was not considered by the board more than a mere
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preliminary to the real law school which they hoped to estab- lish. The work covered two years, a junior and senior. The former might be taken by persons not preparing for the bar. It consisted of International law, Constitutional Law, Com- mon Law and Equity. The seniors were required to attend one more year of lectures in which the art of practicing was emphasized. The professor, who was one of the best trial judges in the state, held moot court once a week in which the students got training in drawing pleadings, arguing legal questions and cases previously assigned, and in delivering opinions. The school prospered under his control, drawing students from all parts of the state and even from neighboring states.
In 1847 the school had so far prospered that an associate professor, Judge W. T. Otto, was secured. The new professor was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He thus added scholarship to his professional ability, a combination the university has always stood for when possible. Sketches of both these men are given elsewhere in this volume. In 1851 Judge Otto resigned and in 1853 Judge McDonald retired. The work was largely a labor of love then, as it has remained since. The salary has rarely been half what an ordinary lawyer could make in active practice. The local bar has never offered much opportunity for the law professor to carry on an active practice, such a combination as can be made in larger cities.
Judge James Hughes succeeded Professor McDonald, serv- ing two years, until he took his seat in Congress. Some of Judge Hughes's lectures are still extant, showing the character of the instruction then given. Judge Hughes did not resign his position until 1857, his place being taken during his ab- sence at Washington by A. B. Carlton.
A sketch of Judge Hughes has already been given. Am- brose B. Carlton was born, December 18, 1825, in Lawrence county. He was educated in the common schools and the academy. He graduated from Indiana in 1849 with the de- gree of Bachelor of Laws. He sat on the Circuit bench two terms and was prosecutor two terms; served in the General Assembly; in 1883 was chairman of the Utah. Commission; He devoted a great part of his time to literature and to wris-
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ing law books. During his later years he practiced at Terre Haute.
In 1857 Col. James Ray McCorkle Bryant succeeded Judge Hughes as professor of law. He was born in Philadelphia, June 25, 1802, of Revolutionary parents. He was educated at Gray and Wylie's Academy and the University of Pennsyl- vania. He at once took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1835. For a number of years he served in the general land office at Washington and then came to Craw- fordsville, where, in 1844, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Legislature. He represented Warren county in the Legislature in 1827, 1847, 1848 and 1851. In 1838 he was on Col. John Tipton's staff. In 1850 he sat in the Constitutional Convention from Warren county. From 1856 to 1861 he was professor of law. In 1861 he enlisted and on February 25, 1866, died from the effects of a wound received at Rich Moun- tain, Virginia.
Judge George Augustus Bicknell followed Bryant as pro- fessor of law, his appointment dating from 1861. Bicknell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 6, 1817. Like his predecessor, he was a graduate of Wylie and Engle's Academy (1828), and of the University of Pennsylvania in 1831. He graduated from Yale Law School and in 1864 re- ceived a degree of Bachelor of Laws from Indiana. He located in Scott county, Indiana, in 1846; in 1848 he became prose- cutor; in 1852 Circuit Judge; from 1861 to 1870 he was pro- fessor of law in Indiana University ; served as a Democrat in Congress, 1877-1881; Supreme court commissioner, 1881- 1885; Circuit Judge, 1889 until his death in New Albany, April 11, 1891. He was the author of "Bankrupt Law," 1841; "Civil Practice," 1863; "Criminal Practice," 1866. He mar- ried Elizabeth Haskins Richards at Batso, New Jersey, May 28, 1840.
During the last years of the service of Judge Bicknell he was assisted by John Upfold Pettit, of Wabash, Indiana. The latter served one year as professor. Both resigned in 1870 and Samuel E. Perkins, of Indianapolis, then one of the most widely known lawyers in the state, was made the head of the department. His biography is given under the Supreme court, of which he was long a member. At the same time
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(1870) Baskin E. Rhoads was chosen a professor of law with Judge Perkins. He served until the close of school in 1877.
Rhoads was born near Philadelphia in 1834. One year later the family moved to Rockville, Indiana. He was edu- cated in Waveland Academy and Wabash College, graduating in 1860. He taught until 1862, when he began practice at Newport, where he was practicing when called to the pro- fessorship. He served in the Legislature in 1864; on the Superior bench of Vigo county, 1881-83.
Judge Perkins resigned in 1872 and his place was taken by Delana R. Eckels. Eckels was born August 19, 1806, in Fleming county, Kentucky. He had no college education, but by the age of twenty-one had been admitted to the bar. He served in the Mexican war as a captain. He sat in the Gen- eral Assembly in 1836. He was the first mayor of Green- castle and in 1853 organized and supervised the free schools of that city. He served six years on the bench of the Sixth circuit (1864-70). He died at Greencastle, November 5, 1888.
Eckels served as professor of law only one year and was succeeded by Cyrus F. McNutt, of Martinsville, who served till the school was closed in 1877. McNutt was born July 29, 1837, in Johnson county ; educated at Franklin (not a graduate), and was a practicing attorney most of his life at Terre Haute.
The Legislature of 1876 was in an economical mood and reduced the salaries of the teachers in the university so much that it was found necessary to close the law school. The law school at the time seemed prosperous. There were forty-one students enrolled in it, and twenty graduates the year before the discontinuance. This seems to have been one of the largest classes in its history, though the preceding one numbered nineteen; that of 1872 numbered twenty-five; that of 1871, thirty-two. In these years the graduates of the law school outnumbered those in the school of liberal arts. The first . graduating law class, that of 1844, contained five members. The thirty-four classes totaled three hundred and seventy- ยท seven, or an average of eleven.
In ordering the school opened, the trustees, as stated in the catalogue of 1841-42, the first containing an announce- ment of the law school, had said, "Nothing less than the
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building up of a law school, that shall be inferior to none west of the mountains; one in which the student shall be so trained that he shall never, in the attorney, forget the scholar and the gentleman."
After a suspension of thirteen years, the law department of the university opened again in the fall of 1889. Judge David Demaree Banta, dean of the school, and Ernest W. Huffcut, professor of law, were the teachers. A two-year course was required, the first known as the junior, the second as the senior year. During the first year the regular teachers were aided by William P. Rogers, acting instructor in Equity Jurisprudence, and Alexander F. McNutt, who taught Real Estate law. At the opening of the school in the fall of 1893, William P. Rogers took the place of Professor Huffcut as professor of law.
Professor Huffcut was born at Kent, Connecticut, Novem- ber 21, 1860. He graduated from Cornell in 1884; from Cor- nell Law School in 1888; practiced law in Minneapolis from 1888 to 1890; was professor of law at Indiana University from 1892 to 1893; at Cornell University from 1893 until 1903; and was dean of law at Cornell from 1903 until his death. Professor Huffcut killed himself on a Hudson river steamboat in 1907. He was author of the following publica- tions : "American Cases on Contracts" (1894), "Elements of Business Law" (1905), "Law of Agency" (1895) and "Law of Negotiable Instruments" (1898).
William Perry Rogers was born near Bloomington, March 3, 1857. He graduated from Indiana University law school in 1892, and the school of liberal arts in 1895. He was admitted to the bar in 1881; practiced law in Bloomington from 1881 to 1892; was professor of law from 1892 to 1902, being dean from 1896 to 1902. Since 1902 he has been dean of the Cin- cinnati Law School.
In the fall of 1894, Charles A. Rhetts became associate professor of law. Rhetts had graduated from Indiana University in 1889 and had taken his Doctor of Law degree at Columbia University in 1892. He died at Bloomington, August 26, 1898. 1
In 1895 Dean Banta died and his place was taken by Pro- fessor Rogers. William E. Clapham was secured as an in-
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structor to help fill the vacancy. He had graduated the year before in the literary department and in 1896 received the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
In the fall of 1896, George L. Reinhard became professor of law, serving as such until 1902, when he took the place of Dean Rogers. In the fall of 1898, William E. Clapham took the place of Professor Rhetts, and with the opening of the year 1901-1902, Herdis F. Clements became assistant profes- sor. Clements had graduated from the law school in 1896. He later practiced in Mt. Vernon, where he is now serving as Circuit Judge.
During the year 1903, a general reorganization was effected. George L. Reinhard became dean, Enoch G. Hogate became professor of law, with R. M. Milburn and Francis M. Springer assisting in the teaching. Entrance requirements equal to graduation from a commissioned high school were required.
The case method of teaching was inaugurated in nearly all courses. The course was extended to include three full years' work. In 1904 Charles M. Hepburn became a professor in the department. Charles McGuffey Hepburn, a son of Andrew and Henrietta (McGuffey) Hepburn, was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, August 19, 1858. He received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Davidson College, North Carolina, in 1878; Bachelor of Laws from the University of Virginia in 1880; Doctor of Laws from Miami University in 1908. He was in charge of the preparatory department of Davidson College in 1880-81. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1881 and practiced at Cincinnati from 1881 to 1903. From 1897 to 1903 he was a lecturer on code pleading in the University of Cincinnati. Since 1903 he has been professor of law in the University of Indiana. He is the author of a number of legal books, among them being the following: "His- torical Development of Code Pleading in America and Eng- land," 1897; "Cases on Code Pleading," 1901; "Parties to Action" (in "Cyc. of Law and Procedure") ; "Introduction to Study of Torts," 1910. He married Julia Benedict, of Mari- etta, Georgia, October 10, 1891.
William Henry Beeler, who took his Bachelor of Laws de- gree the year before, was made an instructor in 1904. Pro-
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fessors Hogate, Hepburn and Beeler are still members of the faculty.
In 1907 a five-year combination course of arts and laws was provided. This was virtually a degree of Bachelor of Arts with law as a major, with the permission to take the degree of Bachelor of Laws after one year of study. Dean Reinhard died on July 13, 1906, and Professor Hogate took his place. Professor Hogate was born September 6, 1849, at Centerton, New Jersey. He graduated from Allegheny Col- lege, Pennsylvania, in 1872. From 1872 until 1903 he prac- ticed law at Danville, Indiana, teaching law in the Central Normal College part of the time. Since 1903 he has been pro- fessor of law at Indiana University and has been dean of the law school since 1906.
Judge Woodfin D. Robinson became a professor of law in 1908, but remained only one year and was succeeded by Jesse J. M. LaFollette. Edwin R. Keedy was assistant that year. Professor LaFollette was born on a farm in Jay county, Indiana, September 12, 1846. He is of Welsh-Huguenot line- age. He was educated at Liber College and while teaching read law with E. L. Watson and L. J. Monks at Winchester. He practiced at Portland, Indiana, served in the army during the Civil War, and served in the Legislature occasionally. From 1897 to 1909 he was assistant United States attorney for the district of Indiana. Since 1909 he has been professor of law at Indiana University.
During the year 1909-1910, Professor Hepburn was absent on leave and his place was filled by John C. Barclay, a gradu- ate of Backus Law School, Cleveland, Ohio. In 1911, Chester G. Vernier was elected professor of law and taught two years. He was reared at Liberty, Indiana, graduated from the Chi- cago University law school, and had taught at Nebraska Uni- versity before coming to Indiana. He is now a professor in the University of Illinois. Professor Vernier was succeeded by Archibald H. Throckmorton as professor of law. He served until 1915, when he was called to Backus College and John Lewis Baker was secured in his stead.
During the year 1911 the entrance requirements were raised to include two years of college training above the high school, the three-year course adopted in 1901 being retained.
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DEPAUW UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL.
DePauw University first established a law department in the fall of 1853, with John A. Matson in charge. A regular course of instruction was given and eight students were en- rolled during the first year. In the fall of 1854 Alexander C. Downey was placed in charge of the department and he re- mained with the university in this capacity until 1858. Dur- ing this period the number of students ranged from ten to twenty, with an average enrollment of fifteen. John A. Matson again became the head of the law department in 1858 and guided its destinies until the close of the school year, 1860-61. There were only six students in the department the last year and the coming on of the Civil War affected the at- tendance to such an extent that it was decided to discontinue the law department in 1862. John Cowgill, who had the de- partment in charge during 1861-62, only had four students and as it was manifestly impossible to continue the depart- ment as long as the war was in progress, it was discontinued in the spring of 1862.
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