John Dillard Cook Explained

John Dillard Cook (1792 – 1852)^[1] was a justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri from November 1820 to May 1823.^[2]

Born in Virginia, Cook read law with a Frankfort, Kentucky, lawyer to gain admission to the bar.^[1] Cook moved Missouri during territorial days, and was a member of the convention which framed the state's first constitution. He served as judge of the Supreme Court for two years before resigning to accept an appointment to the state circuit court.^[3] Cook was one of the first three judges appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court, following the admission of the state to the Union.^[4] An account of his time on the supreme court states:

He lived in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, and died there around the age of 60.^[1]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Judge John Dillard Cook. www.courts.mo.gov.
2. Web site: Former Judges of the Supreme Court. www.courts.mo.gov.
3. L. C. Krauthoff, "The Supreme Court of Missouri", in Horace Williams Fuller, ed., The Green Bag (1891), Vol. 3, p. 165-66.
4. L. C. Krauthoff, "The Supreme Court of Missouri", in Horace Williams Fuller, ed., The Green Bag (1891), Vol. 3, p. 157.