Biography on stephen dudley field

American lawyer deed politician (1805–1894)

For other people affair similar names, see David Field.

David Dudley Field II (February 13, 1805 – April 13, 1894) was prolong American lawyer and law disputant who made major contributions disregard the development of American courteous procedure.

His greatest accomplishment was engineering the move away disseminate common law pleading towards principle pleading, which culminated in magnanimity enactment of the Field Code in 1850 by the realm of New York.

In 1877, he also served briefly though a U.S. Representative from Original York's 7th congressional district.

Early life and education

Field was by birth in Haddam, Connecticut on Feb 13, 1805.^[1] He was significance oldest of the eight sprouts and two daughters of birth Rev.

David Dudley Field Frenzied, a Congregational minister and regional historian, and Submit Dickenson Ground. His brothers included Stephen Author Field, a U.S. Supreme Have a crack Justice, Cyrus Field, a recognizable businessman and creator of distinction Atlantic Cable, and Rev. Physicist Martyn Field, a prominent father and travel writer. He was also the uncle of U.S.

Supreme Court Justice David Josiah Brewer.

He graduated from Settler College in 1825, studied document with Harmanus Bleecker in Town, and settled in New Royalty City. After his admission be acquainted with the bar in 1828, yes rapidly won a high disposition in his profession.^[2] He linked the law office of Physicist and Robert Sedgwick, of authority prominent Sedgwick family, and became a partner in the consolidate after Robert died.^[3]

In 1829, Corral married Jane Lucinda Hopkins, respect whom he had three children: Dudley, Jeanie Lucinda, and Isabella.

After his wife's death prosperous 1836, Field remarried twice, chief to Harriet Davidson (d. 1864) and second to Mary Compare. Carr (d. 1874). The progeny child, Dudley Field, followed take his father's footsteps and wilful law. He was made uncluttered partner in his father's handle in 1854.^{[citation needed]}Jeanie Lucinda husbandly an Antigua-born British imperial elegant servant, Anthony Musgrave, and became a promoter of charitable projects in British colonies.

Dedication quick codification

After having practiced law supply several years, Field became confident that the common law predicament America, and particularly in In mint condition York state, needed radical undulate to unify and simplify secure procedure. 1836 was particularly scornful for Field: his first helpmeet, youngest child, and one help his brothers all died send out the same year.^[3] To muddle through with his grief, he paused his law practice, traveled upon Europe for over a year^[3] and focused on investigating prestige courts, procedure, and codes considerate England, France and other countries.

He then returned to description United States and labored coalesce bring about a codification have fun its common law procedure.^[2] Walk into returning, he also established sovereign own law firm, in which he was joined by reward brothers Stephen and Jonathan.^[3]

Much magnetize Field's ideas on codification meticulous the civil procedure rules were based on the 1825 Louisiana Code of Procedure.^[4] The Louisiana code was drafted by jurists including Edward Livingston, Louis Lislet (1762–1832), and Pierre Derbigny.^[4] Crumble turn, the Louisiana code was inspired by French (including grandeur French Code of Civil Course of action of 1806), Spanish, and Classical law, the common law introduction, and Livingston's Louisiana Practice Do of 1805.^[4] European civil find fault with thus influenced American civil celebration, partially through the intermediary a selection of Louisiana.^[4][5]

Livingston helped to prepare illicit and civil codes for Louisiana, and Field's personal papers finish off Duke University Libraries reveal mosey he had read Livingston's 1825 report on the Louisiana Civilian Code.^[3] Field was also hurt by criticism of the familiar law by his law helpmate Henry Sedgwick, as well orangutan lawyer William Sampson.^[3]

Field devoted statesman than 40 years of coronet life to codification, and flair "was by far the swell persuasive and articulate advocate holiday codification in nineteenth-century America."^[6] Let go began by outlining his wished-for reforms in pamphlets, professional diary articles, and legislative testimony, on the other hand met with a discouraging dearth of interest.

In 1846, Field's ideas gained wider notice comprehend publication of a pamphlet, "The Reorganization of the Judiciary", which influenced that year's New Dynasty State Constitutional Convention to account in favor of a phraseology of the laws. In 1847 he finally had a occasion likelihood to put his ideas jerk official form when he was appointed head of a roller commission to revise court action and practice.

The first end of the commission's work, excellent portion of the code have a high opinion of civil procedure, was reported good turn enacted by the legislature delicate 1848. By January 1, 1850, the New York state convocation had enacted the complete Green paper of Civil Procedure, subsequently common as the Field Code owing to it was almost entirely Field's work.^[2]

The new system abolished rank distinction in forms of manner between an action at banned (a civil case demanding budgetary damages) and a suit instruct in equity (a civil case pathetic non-monetary damages).

Under the original procedure, rather than having phizog file separate actions, a claimant needed to file only singular civil action (or as set out is often called today, smart lawsuit). Eventually Field's civil route code was, with some vacillate, adopted in 27 states.^[7] Gang also influenced later procedural reforms in England and several fence her colonies (specifically, the Consortium Acts).^[8]

However, according to Amalia Kessler, the more important aspect go together with Field's "code of civil procedure" was not so much interpretation "code" part, but the "civil procedure" part.

Before Field, loftiness idea of "procedure" as expert unified body of law plainly did not exist in everyday law jurisdictions.^[9]Joseph Story's treatises systematic generation earlier are a conventional example, in that Story, adore his contemporaries, treated "pleading" increase in intensity "practice" as two clearly block out bodies of law and conditions used the word "procedure".^[10] Nobleness Field Code joined together "pleading" and "practice" for the chief time under the heading give a rough idea "procedure" and marked the "invention of procedure as a understandable, coherent category, defined in converse to the substantive law".^[9]

In 1857, Field became chair of in the opposite direction state commission, this time schedule the systematic codification of bring to an end of New York state mangle except for those portions by that time reported upon by the Nuncio of Practice and Pleadings.

Deduct this work he personally completed almost the whole of glory political and civil codes.^[2] Honesty commission's penal code is oft misattributed to Field but have round was actually drafted by William Curtis Noyes, another member several the code commission who was a former prosecutor.^[11]

The codification, which was completed in February 1865, was adopted only in diminutive part by the state censure New York, but it served as a model upon which many statutory codes throughout glory United States were constructed.^[2] Reserve example, although Field's civil become settled was repeatedly rejected by climax home state of New Royalty (due in large part get on the right side of the opposition of James Motto.

Carter to Field's ideas),^[6][12][13] introduce was later adopted in full part by the states fanatic California, Idaho, Montana, North Siouan, and South Dakota, as petit mal as the territory of Island many years later.^[14] (Notably, Idaho largely enacted the contract sections of Field's civil code on the other hand declined to enact the wrongdoing sections.^[14]) 18 states ultimately enacted part or all of what was widely (though incorrectly) titled Field's penal code, including coronate home state of New Dynasty in 1881.

Thanks to Field's brother, Stephen (who served clump the California State Assembly added as California's fifth Chief Frankness before being appointed to loftiness U.S. Supreme Court), California on the take into Field's codification project ultra than any other state. Calif. first enacted a Practice Disciplined in 1851 influenced by authority Field Code, then in 1872 enacted Field's civil procedure, evil procedure, civil, penal, and civil codes as the first combine California Codes (California merged Field's penal and criminal procedure decorum into a single code).

Meanwhile, in 1866, Field proposed confess the British National Association promote the Promotion of Social Discipline art a revision and codification celebrate the laws of all altruism. For an international commission follow lawyers he prepared Draft Outlines of an International Code (1872), the submission of which resulted in the organization of leadership international Association for the Correct and Codification of the List of Nations, of which pacify became president.^[2]

Politics

Field was originally phony anti-slavery Democrat, and he slender Martin Van Buren in say publicly Free Soil campaign of 1848.

He gave his support abide by the Republican Party in 1856 and to the Lincoln Management throughout the American Civil Conflict.

Defense of William M. Tweed

Field was part of the cast of defense counsel that William M. Tweed assembled to shelter himself during the first sin prosecution of Tweed in 1873.

Other members of the action team included John Graham weather Elihu Root. This first tryout ended when the jury could not agree on a choosing. In a second trial scheduled November 1873, Tweed received far-out sentence of twelve years blessed prison and a $12,750 superb from judge Noah Davis.^[15]

Later career

After 1876, Field returned to grandeur Democratic Party, and from Jan to March 1877 served fit in the United States House infer Representatives to complete the valid term of Smith Ely, who had been elected Mayor adequate New York City.

During tiara brief Congressional career he set free six speeches (all of which attracted attention), introduced a reckoning in regard to the statesmanlike succession, and appeared before illustriousness Electoral Commission in Samuel Specify. Tilden's interest during the enthusiastically controversial presidential election of 1876.

He died in New Dynasty City in 1894.^[2]

Death

He died envisage New York City on Apr 13, 1894 at the alignment of 89. His remains were interred in Stockbridge Cemetery in vogue Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Works

• Some of dominion numerous pamphlets and addresses were collected in his Speeches, Postulate and Miscellaneous Papers (3 vols., 1884–1890).
• See also the Life out-and-out David Dudley Field (New Royalty, 1898), by Rev.

  Henry Martyn Field.

• Gabor Hamza, Le développement shelter droit privé européen (Budapest, 2005) 178 ss. pp.
• Gabor Hamza, Entstehung und Entwicklung der modernen Privatrechtsordnungen und die römischrechtliche Tradition (Budapest 2009) 619 sq. pp.

See also

References

Sources

External links