Alfred S. Bennett

Infobox Judge
name = Alfred S. Bennett


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office = 49th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
termstart = 1919
termend = 1920
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appointer =
predecessor = Conrad P. Olson
successor = George M. Brown
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birthdate = June 10 1854
birthplace = Dubuque, Iowa
deathdate = death date and age|1925|11|28|1854|6|10|mf=y
deathplace = The Dalles, Oregon
spouse = Mary McCauley

Alfred Silas Bennett (June 10 1854—November 28 1925) was an American judge, educator, and attorney in Oregon. He was the 49th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving from 1919 to 1920. Previously he had served as a state circuit court judge and as a county school superintendent. An Iowa native, he practiced law in The Dalles, Oregon, with several cases making it to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Early life

Alfred Bennett was born in Dubuque, Iowa on June 10 1854.Corning, Howard M. "Dictionary of Oregon History". Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.] In 1865 he and his parents took the Oregon Trail to Oregon and settled in Washington County. By 1870 Alfred set off on his own and eventually ended up in The Dalles, Oregon where he taught and learned the law between 1873 and 1880. In 1880, he passed the bar, this was while serving as Wasco County superintendent of schools from 1878 until 1882.

Judicial career

In September 1882 Alfred Bennett was appointed as judge of the 8th judicial district which covered Eastern Oregon and remained in that post for two years. He then returned to private practice and married Mary McCauley in 1887. In 1918 Bennett won election to the Oregon Supreme Court. [http://www.bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections27.htm Oregon Blue Book: Supreme Court Justices of Oregon.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 25 2008.] He replaced Conrad P. Olson who was serving out the remainder of Frank A. Moore’s term after Moore died in office. Alfred Bennett then resigned from the court on October 5 1920. He then resumed private practice in The Dalles before dying on November 28 1925.

While in private practice Bennett argued several cases in front of the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1896 Bennett represented Jane Skottowe in "Oregon S. L. & U. N. R. Co. v. Skottowe" in a personal injury lawsuit. [ [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=162&page=490 Oregon S. L. & U. N. R. Co. v. Skottowe.] 162 U.S. 490 (1896). Retrieved on January 25 2008.] In 1912, he represented Hamilton H. Hendricks against the government on charges of perjury in "Hendricks v. United States". [ [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=223&page=178 Hendricks v. United States.] 223 U.S. 178 (1912). Retrieved on January 25 2008.]

Other

Bennett and his wife had a daughter Anita Bennett who married Harold T. Hopkins, the one time owner of the local paper, "The Dalles Chronicle". Alfred and his family lived in the Victorian house now known as Bennett-Williams House in The Dalles. [Spatz, Dan. [http://www.thedalleschronicle.com/aboutTDC.shtml History of The Dalles Chronicle.] The Dalles Chronicle. Retrieved on January 25 2008.]

References