Edward Fox (judge) explained

Edward Fox
Office:Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine
Term Start:May 31, 1866
Term End:December 14, 1881
Appointer:Andrew Johnson
Predecessor:Ashur Ware
Successor:Nathan Webb
Birth Name:Edward Fox
Birth Date:10 June 1815
Birth Place:Portland, Maine
Death Place:Portland, Maine
Education:Harvard University
Harvard Law School

Edward Fox (June 10, 1815 – December 14, 1881) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine.

Education and career

Born in Portland, Maine, Fox graduated from Harvard University in 1834, and from Harvard Law School in 1837. He practiced in Portland, and in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was city solicitor for Portland. He was the county attorney of Cumberland County, Maine. He worked with Neal Dow to draft a prohibition law, which became known as the Maine Law after the state legislature approved it in 1851. Dow claimed credit for authoring the law, but his cousin John Neal revealed Fox's contribution in the press. That contribution was the search and seizure provision, which created a new legal standard for obtaining search warrants and contributed toward to the modern probable cause standard.[1] A decade later he was an associate justice of the Maine Supreme Court from 1862 to 1863.

Federal judicial service

On May 28, 1866, Fox was nominated by President Andrew Johnson to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Maine vacated by Judge Ashur Ware. Fox was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 30, 1866, and received his commission the next day. Fox served in this position until his death in Portland on December 14, 1881.

Sources

Daniel Goodenow

Notes and References

  1. Oliver . Wesley . Fall 2008 . Portland, Prohibition, and Probable Cause: Maine’s Role in Shaping Modern Criminal Procedure . Maine Bar Journal . 22 . 4 . 210–222.