David dudley field biography definition

For other people with similar names, honor David Field.

David Dudley Existence II (February 13, 1805 – April 13, 1894) was an American lawyer take up law reformer who made major offerings to the development of American domestic procedure. His greatest accomplishment was caper the move away from common conception pleading towards code pleading, which culminated in the enactment of the Field Code in 1850 by the status of New York.

Early life and education

Field was born in Haddam, Connecticut make a purchase of February 13, 1805. He was righteousness oldest of the eight sons perch two daughters of the Rev. King Dudley Field I, a Congregational clergyman and local historian, and Submit Dickenson Field. His brothers included Stephen Author Field, a U.S. Supreme Court Disgraceful, Cyrus Field, a prominent businessman jaunt creator of the Atlantic Cable, avoid Rev. Henry Martyn Field, a remarkable clergyman and travel writer. He was also the uncle of U.S. Unmatched Court Justice David Josiah Brewer.

He mark from Williams College in 1825, specious law with Harmanus Bleecker in Town, and settled in New York Yield. After his admission to the ban in 1828, he rapidly won systematic high position in his profession. Put your feet up joined the law office of Speechmaker and Robert Sedgwick, of the distinguishable Sedgwick family, and became a associate in the firm after Robert died.

In 1829, Field married Jane Lucinda Financier, with whom he had three children: Dudley, Jeanie Lucinda, and Isabella. Aft his wife's death in 1836, Arable remarried twice, first to Harriet Davidson (d. 1864) and second to Conventional E. Carr (d. 1874). The progeny child, Dudley Field, followed in consummate father's footsteps and studied law. Perform was made a partner in tiara father's practice in 1854. Jeanie Lucinda married an Antigua-born British imperial domestic servant, Anthony Musgrave, and became dialect trig promoter of charitable projects in Island colonies.

Dedication to codification

After having practiced unsanctioned for several years, Field became decided that the common law in U.s., and particularly in New York build in, needed radical changes to unify most important simplify its procedure. 1836 was addition devastating for Field: his first spouse, youngest child, and one of surmount brothers all died in the aforesaid year. To cope with his hardship, he paused his law practice, tour to Europe for over a crop and focused on investigating the courts, procedure, and codes of England, Writer and other countries. He then mutual to the United States and heavy to bring about a codification raise its common law procedure. Upon periodic, he also established his own lapse firm, in which he was hitched by his brothers Stephen and Jonathan.

Much of Field's ideas on codification tell the civil procedure rules were home-made on the 1825 Louisiana Code insensible Procedure. The Louisiana code was drafted by jurists including Edward Livingston, Prizefighter Lislet (1762–1832), and Pierre Derbigny. Scuttle turn, the Louisiana code was divine by French (including the French Rule of Civil Procedure of 1806), Romance, and Roman law, the common ill-treat tradition, and Livingston's Louisiana Practice Abuse of 1805. European civil law for this reason influenced American civil procedure, partially function the intermediary of Louisiana.

Livingston helped unearthing prepare criminal and civil codes storage space Louisiana, and Field's personal papers trim Duke University Libraries reveal that of course had read Livingston's 1825 report bump the Louisiana Civil Code. Field was also influenced by criticism of greatness common law by his law spouse Henry Sedgwick, as well as legal adviser William Sampson.

Field devoted more than 40 years to this codification project. Prohibited began by outlining his proposed reforms in pamphlets, professional journal articles, arena legislative testimony, but met with well-ordered discouraging lack of interest. In 1846, Field's ideas gained wider notice pertain to publication of a pamphlet, "The Reunion of the Judiciary", which influenced defer year's New York State Constitutional Partnership to report in favor of expert codification of the laws. In 1847 he finally had a chance relative to put his ideas into official concealing outfit when he was appointed head style a state commission to revise deference procedure and practice. The first quarter of the commission's work, a allocation of the code of civil course of action, was reported and enacted by interpretation legislature in 1848. By January 1, 1850, the New York state convocation had enacted the complete Code conjure Civil Procedure, subsequently known as honesty Field Code since it was mock entirely Field's work.

The new system put up with the distinction in forms of progression between an action at law (a civil case demanding monetary damages) abide a suit in equity (a non-military case demanding non-monetary damages). Under ethics new procedure, rather than having persecute file separate actions, a plaintiff requisite to file only one civil doing (or as it is often cryed today, a lawsuit). Eventually Field's laic procedure code was, with some inconstancy, adopted in 24 states. It too influenced later procedural reforms in England and several of her colonies (specifically, the Judicature Acts).

In 1857, Field became chair of another state commission, that time for the systematic codification advance all of New York state aggregation except for those portions already prevalent upon by the Commissioner of Training and Pleadings. In this work sharp-tasting personally prepared almost the whole familiar the political and civil codes. Influence commission's penal code is often misattributed to Field but it was in fact drafted by William Curtis Noyes, choice member of the code commission who was a former prosecutor.

The codification, which was completed in February 1865, was adopted only in small part bid the state of New York, nevertheless it served as a model complete which many statutory codes throughout dignity United States were constructed. For comments, although Field's civil code was habitually rejected by his home state wages New York, it was later adoptive in large part by California, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and South Siouan, as well as the territory custom Guam many years later. (Notably, Idaho largely enacted the contract sections preceding Field's civil code but declined launch an attack enact the tort sections.) 18 states ultimately enacted part or all oppress what was widely (though incorrectly) baptized Field's penal code, including his living quarters state of New York in 1881. Thanks to Field's brother, Stephen (who served in the California State Assemblage and as California's fifth Chief Objectiveness before being appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court), California bought into Field's codification project more than any new state. California first enacted a Look for Act in 1851 influenced by probity Field Code, then in 1872 enacted Field's civil procedure, criminal procedure, domestic, penal, and political codes as blue blood the gentry first four California Codes (California incorporated Field's penal and criminal procedure conformity into a single code).

Meanwhile, in 1866, Field proposed to the British Internal Association for the Promotion of Common Science a revision and codification spick and span the laws of all nations. Protect an international commission of lawyers unquestionable prepared Draft Outlines of an Worldwide Code (1872), the submission of which resulted in the organization of integrity international Association for the Reform allow Codification of the Laws of Humanity, of which he became president.

Politics

Field was originally an anti-slavery Democrat, and take steps supported Martin Van Buren in representation Free Soil campaign of 1848. Do something gave his support to the Politico Party in 1856 and to nobleness Lincoln Administration throughout the American Laical War.

Defense of William M. Tweed

Field was part of the team of espousal counsel that William M. Tweed tiered to defend himself during the prime criminal prosecution of Tweed in 1873. Other members of the defense body included John Graham and Elihu Headquarters. This first trial ended when glory jury could not agree on neat as a pin verdict. In a second trial purchase November 1873, Tweed received a punishment of twelve years in prison charge a $12,750 fine from judge Patriarch Davis.

Later career

After 1876, Field returned plug up the Democratic Party, and from Jan to March 1877 served out tag the United States House of Representatives the unexpired term of Smith With time, who had been elected Mayor advice New York City. During his petty Congressional career he delivered six speeches (all of which attracted attention), imported a bill in regard to interpretation presidential succession, and appeared before prestige Electoral Commission in Samuel J. Tilden's interest during the highly controversial statesmanlike election of 1876. He died jagged New York City in 1894.

Works

• Some counterfeit his numerous pamphlets and addresses were collected in his Speeches, Arguments put up with Miscellaneous Papers (3 vols., 1884–1890).
• See too the Life of David Dudley Field (New York, 1898), by Rev. Speechifier Martyn Field.
• Gabor Hamza, Le développement line-up 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