Ward Hunt

Ward Hunt (June 14, 1810-March 24, 1886), was an American jurist and politician.

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Hunt was born and raised in Utica, New York. He graduated from Union College in 1828 and began studying law, for a time under a local judge. After passing the bar in 1831, he established a practice with the judge who had tutored him.

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Initially a Jacksonian Democrat, he was elected to the New York Assembly and served one term as mayor of Utica, in 1844. By the end of his mayoral term, however, Hunt had broken with the Democrats over the slavery issue, and in 1856 he became a founder of the New York Republican Party. Hunt remained in private practice until 1865, when he was elected to the New York Court of Appeals. He remained on this court through a statewide judicial reorganization.

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Hunt was a friend and patron of political boss Roscoe Conkling, who happened to be an associate of President Ulysses S. Grant. When an opening came up on the Supreme Court, Conkling pushed Grant to nominate Ward for the job.

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Hunt had little impact on the court, siding with the majority in all but 22 cases in his ten years on the job. He wrote only four dissenting opinions and none for the majority. His most notable contribution came while riding circuit in New York, where he heard Susan B. Anthony argue that she was constitutionally guaranteed the right to vote and had not broken the law when she voted in the 1872 election; Hunt found that Anthony had indeed broken the law.

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In 1878, Hunt suffered a severe stroke, which prevented him from attending court sessions or rendering opinions. Nonetheless he did not retire, because at the time in order to retire with a full pension a person had to put in at least ten years of government service and a minimum age of 70. To encourage him to retire, Congress passed a special provision under which he could receive a pension if he would retire within 30 days; Hunt did so on January 27, 1882, and enjoyed his pension for only four more years before passing away in Utica.

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June 14: June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining....

1810: 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar)....

March 24: March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). There are 282 days remaining....

Ward Hunt related Images and Photos (experimental)

Ward Bond	The Hunt	Cam Ward	M. Ward: Post-War CD
M. Ward: Post-War CD	Burt Ward	Last Hunt, The	Simon Ward
James Hunt	Hines Ward	Mouse Hunt	Helen Hunt