A Sketch of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

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elected him judge of the Court of Common as is too often the case with some courts. Pleas of a judicial circuit then consisting of Indeed, it was his fearlessness in discharg the counties of Franklin, Madison, Clark, ing his duty, as he saw it, and as all have Champaign, Logan, Union, and Delaware. since been made to see, that he was repudi He was again elected by the Legislature in ated by his party friends, and refused a renomination to a place on the Supreme Court 1841.

Bench. We refer to his decision on the In 1845 Judge Swan resigned his posi "fugitive slave law," when he held "that tion of judge of the Common Pleas, and formed a partnership with Mr. John W. the State could not interfere with the action of the courts of the Andrews of Colum United States within bus, Ohio, which parttheir well-established nership continued constitutional limits." with profit to both Judge Swan himself until 1854. regarded this as the In October, 1854, greatest act of his Judge Swan was the life and the complete candidate of the Re vindication afterpublican party for wards accorded him the position of judge proves that he was ' of the Supreme not alone a strong Court, and was elect man, but that he was ed by a large major a far-seeing one as ity. well. On the Supreme Court Bench Judge But his failure to be Swan fully sustained renominated and re he high reputation elected to a seat on already won by him, the Supreme Court and it is safe to say bench did not discour that he held the es age him, as the work teem and confidence performed by him of the Bar, Bench, afterwards plainly and the public in gen shows : it was fol W. J. GILMORE. eral to as great a de lowing this period gree as that which that he wrote and had ever been attained by any of the illustrious published a treatise entitled, " A Treat citizens who had preceded him on that bench. ise on the Law relating to the Powers and Some of the most exciting incidents of our Duties of Justices of the Peace, etc." This country's history were enacted during the work has gone through many editions, and period when Judge Swan sat on the bench is considered one of the most useful books of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and truly ever published in Ohio. One of the last may it be said of him that he never forgot acts of his life was the preparation of a new the dignity of the high office which he held. edition of this work, working at it when At all times courteous, patient, impartial, hardly able to sit up. His publishers has firm, and wise. Always striving to rightly tened the book through as rapidly as pos sible that he might see a copy before he construe the law as it existed, never attempt ing to create law to suit existing conditions, cfied.