William J. Robertson

William Joseph Robertson (December 20, 1817 - May 27, 1898) was born in Culpepper County, Virginia in 1817. He attended the University of Virginia from 1834 to 1836 and again in 1841. After graduating, he was admitted to the bar in 1843, settled in Charlottesville to practice law, and won election as Commonwealth’s Attorney for Albemarle County, Virginia in 1852. His Charlottesville home is now a historic landmark.cite web |url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/Charlottesville/104-5074_Judge_Wm_Robertson_1999_Final_Nomination.pdf|title=National Register of Historic Places, Registration Form, Judge William J. Robertson House|publisher=Virginia Department of Historic Resources|accessmonthday=May 4 |accessyear=2008]

Robertson prosecuted the trial of John S. Mosby, who was accused of shooting another student. Mosby claimed self-defense, but was convicted and sent to jail. Afterward, Robertson became a friend and mentor to Mosby, who kept a portrait of Robertson on the wall of his home.cite book
last = Ramage
first = John
title = Gray Ghost: the life of Col. John Singleton Mosby
publisher = University Press of Kentucky (accessed via Google Books)
date = 1999
ISBN = 0813121353]

In 1859, Robertson was elected to the Court of Appeals on which he served until 1865, ["Judge William Joseph Robertson," in 97 Va. v (1900).] when Virginia's post-war governor declined to reappoint him to the reorganized court.

In 1860, on the death of Peter V. Daniel, some Virginians lobbied for President James Buchanan to select Robertson for the United States Supreme Court.cite book
last = Warren
first = Charles
title = The Supreme Court in United States History
publisher = Little, Brown (accessed via Google Books)
date = 1922]

Returning to private practice, he was attorney in many important cases involving the interests of Virginia and her citizens following the war. Most famous among these was his representation of the Lee family in the Arlington estate case. He also was known as an accomplished railroad lawyer, serving as general counsel for the Norfolk & Western and as a board member of the Chesapeake & Ohio railroads.

Judge Robertson was a charter member [Charter of the Virginia State Bar Association, Acts of Assembly 1889-1890, c. 376, published in Report of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Virginia State Bar Association (1893) (available on Google Books)] and the first president of the Virginia Bar Association, whose first annual meeting was held at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia on August 24 and 25, 1889.cite web|url=http://www.vba.org/history.htm|title= VBA History and Heritage|publisher=The Virginia Bar Association|accessmonthday=May 4 |accessyear=2008] In his presidential address, Robertson recommended the merger of law and equity in Virginia civil procedure,cite book
last = Van Rhee
first = C.H.
title = The Law's Delay: Essays on Undue Delay in Civil Litigation
publisher = Intersentia nv (accessed via Google Books)
date = 2004
ISBN = 9050953883] . His ideas "fell like a thunderbolt on some of his hearers," reported the editor of the "Virginia Law Journal", who concluded, "I doubt they will recover their serenity in a year." The merger of law and equity in Virginia was accomplished, only partially, more than 100 years after his death. [ Bryson, W. Hamilton, [http://ssrn.com/abstract=946423 "The Merger of Common-Law and Equity Pleading in Virginia"] . University of Richmond Law Review, Vol. 41, pp. 77-82, 2006.]

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