Joseph Rockwell Swan (politician)
| Joseph Rockwell Swan | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court | |
|
In office February 1855 – November 1859 |
|
| Preceded by | Robert B. Warden |
| Succeeded by | William Y. Gholson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 28, 1802 Westernville, New York |
| Died | December 18, 1884 (aged 81) Columbus, Ohio |
| Resting place | Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Hannah Ann Andrews |
| Children | five |
| Religion | Episcopal |
Joseph Rockwell Swan (December 28, 1802 – December 18, 1884) was a Republican politician in the U.S. State of Ohio who was a judge on the Ohio Supreme Court 1855–1860.
Joseph Rockwell Swan was born at Westernville, Oneida County, New York. He studied at an academy in Aurora, New York, where he began the study of law. He moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1824, and studied law at the office of his uncle, Judge Gustavus Swan, where he was soon admitted to the bar.
Swan's first office was prosecuting attorney of Franklin County, to which he was appointed in 1830 by the judges of the Common Pleas. In 1833, a statute was passed which made the office elective, and in October of that year, the voters of Franklin County chose Swan. Within a year, the legislature chose him for judge of the Common Pleas Court, with a circuit of Franklin, Madison, Clark, Champaign, Logan, Union, and Delaware counties, with the legislature electing him in 1834 and again in 1841.
Swan resigned from the court in 1845, and formed the partnership of Swan and Andrews in Columbus, with John W. Andrews as junior partner, until 1854. In 1850, the General Assembly passed an act calling a Convention to revise or amend the Constitution of the state of Ohio, and judge Swan was elected as a delegate from Franklin County.
In 1854, Swan ran for the Ohio Supreme Court as an Anti-Nebraska Party candidate, and defeated his Democratic opponent by 188,000 to 109,000. His most important decision came in 1859, and cost him re-nomination by the Republicans. This case involved Simeon Bushnell, who, along with Charles Langston, was convicted by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and imprisoned for rescuing a fugitive slave in an event known as the Oberlin–Wellington Rescue. The case was appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, where Swan was in the majority of a 3-2 decision to deny release on grounds that the United States Supreme Court had found the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was constitutional. If they had ruled for release, Governor Chase was prepared to use the National Guard. This may have precipitated the Civil War in Ohio that year. In closing, Swan contrasted his personal views with his need to adhere to the Constitution:
...
Wikipedia