Background
Lucilius Alonzo Emery, the only son of James S. and Eliza Ann (Wing) Emery, was born at Carmel, Penobscot County, Maine, where his father was a merchant.
(Excerpt from Concerning Justice Contrast, I would recall...)
Excerpt from Concerning Justice Contrast, I would recall to your minds another and even more fundamental question asked twenty centuries ago in a judicial proceeding in distant Judea. It is related that when Jesus, upon his accusation before Pilate, claimed in defense that he had come into the world to bear Witness unto the truth, Pilate inquired of him What is but it is further related that when Pilate had said this he went out again. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Lucilius Alonzo Emery, the only son of James S. and Eliza Ann (Wing) Emery, was born at Carmel, Penobscot County, Maine, where his father was a merchant.
He attended the academy at Hampden, to which town the family moved in 1850, and then entered Bowdoin College, where he graduated in 1861.
He studied law at Bangor, Maine, and having been admitted to the Penobscot bar in August 1863, commenced practise at Ellsworth, Hancock County, which was his place of residence for the remainder of his life.
Interesting himself actively in local politics, he was in 1866 elected county attorney of Hancock County, and two years later entered into partnership with Eugene Hale, United States senator from Maine.
In 1874 he became state senator and in 1876 was elected by the legislature state attorney-general, occupying that position for three years.
During his tenure of this office he was in charge of much important litigation and displayed a profound knowledge of constitutional law.
He was senior counsel for the state in its action against the Maine Central Railroad Company to recover the amount of the tax imposed on that company in respect of its franchise, and sustained the constitutionality of the legislation involved in the state courts, and in the Supreme Court of the United States.
The point was a new one, and the decision was regarded as establishing an important precedent (66 Maine, 488; 96 U. S. , 499).
As a member of this body he was responsible for the introduction and enactment of much legislation of permanent importance, the ultimate object of which was the simplification of the law.
In 1883 he was appointed associate justice of the state supreme court, becoming chief justice Dec. 14, 1906, and retaining that position till his retirement June 28, 1911.
On the bench he was competent, prompt, resolute, and always master of his court.
His jury charges were notable for their clarity and impartiality, and his decisions were always reached after an exhaustive consideration of the law and the facts.
His opinions were distinguished by their brevity, and although he was a strong supporter of the doctrine of stare decisis, he abstained as a rule from quoting precedents.
In 1889 he had been elected professor of medical jurisprudence in the Maine Medical School, and on the establishment of a law school at Bangor in 1898 by the University of Maine, he took a strong interest therein and joined its staff of lecturers.
For a number of years he delivered lectures on Roman law, dealing principally with legal development, on probate law covering the principles and practise, and on “What to do in court and how, ” embodying the results of his long experience as counsel and judge.
After his retirement from the bench he continued to lecture on Roman law at the law school, and his opinion was constantly sought on constitutional questions by the bar and the state government.
(Excerpt from Concerning Justice Contrast, I would recall...)
He was all his life an insatiable student on philosophical and historical lines, devoting particular attention to the historical development of law.
His opinions on public matters were strong, and often expressed in vigorous language.
On the divorce problem he was especially emphatic.
member of the senate
In 1880 he was for the second time elected to the state Senate and acted as chairman of the joint committee on the judiciary. As a member of this body he was responsible for the introduction and enactment of much legislation of permanent importance, the ultimate object of which was the simplification of the law.
In daily intercourse he was dignified, and slow to realize the humorous side of life.
Emery married Anne Stetson Crosby on November 9, 1864.
