David Leonard Barnes

David Leonard Barnes (January 28, 1760 – November 3, 1812) was a United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island judge and a party in the first U.S. Supreme Court decision, West v. Barnes (1791).

Barnes was born in Scituate, Massachusetts on January 28, 1760. He graduated from Harvard College in 1780 and read law in 1783. Barnes was admitted to the bar and resided in Taunton, Massachusetts where he practiced law until 1793. Barnes married into the Jenckes family of Providence, Rhode Island and was engaged in private practice in Providence from 1793 to 1802. Eventually, Barnes won the case of West v. Barnes (1791) representing himself and his wife's family after being admitted to the Supreme Court bar that morning. Barnes was appointed a U.S. attorney and later appointed judge of U.S. District Court for Rhode Island receiving a recess appointment from Thomas Jefferson on April 30, 1801, to a seat vacated by Benjamin Bourne. Jefferson formally nominated Barnes on January 6, 1802. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1802, and received his commission the same day. Barnes served from 1801 to 1812 dying in office on November 3, 1812 in Providence. His interment was at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island.

References

• James R. Perry, The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800, Volume 6, "West v. Barnes," pp. 7-27. Google Book Search excerpt
• Political Graveyard bio
• David Leonard Barnes at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
Preceded by Benjamin Bourne	Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island 1801-1812	Succeeded by David Howell

Persondata
Name	Barnes, David Leonard
Alternative names
Short description	United States federal judge
Date of birth	January 28, 1760
Place of birth	Scituate, Massachusetts
Date of death	November 3, 1812
Place of death	Providence, Rhode Island