Byron Paine

The Honorable
Byron Paine
Associate Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office
September 1867 – January 13, 1871 (death)
Appointed byLucius Fairchild
Preceded byJason Downer
Succeeded byWilliam P. Lyon
In office
June 1, 1859 – August 1864
Preceded byAbram D. Smith
Succeeded byJason Downer
Chief Clerk of the Wisconsin Senate
In office
January 9, 1856 – January 14, 1857
Preceded bySamuel G. Bugh
Succeeded byWilliam Henry Brisbane
Personal details
Born(1827-10-10)October 10, 1827
Painesville, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJanuary 13, 1871(1871-01-13) (aged 43)
Monona, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeForest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin
Spouse
Clarissa R. Wyman
(m. 1854⁠–⁠1871)
Children
  • James Percy Paine
  • (b. 1856; died young)
  • Norman Paine
  • (b. 1858; died young)
  • Arthur Paine
  • (b. 1860; died young)
  • Wendell Wyman Paine
  • (b. 1862; died 1887)
  • George Wyman Paine
  • (b. 1866; died 1937)
  • Byron Dixon Paine
  • (b. 1871; died 1931)
Parents
  • Gen. James H. Paine (father)
  • Marilla Paine (mother)
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers
Union Army
Years of service1864–1865
RankLt. Colonel, USV
Unit43rd Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Byron Paine (October 10, 1827 – January 13, 1871) was an American lawyer, judge, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1867 until his death in 1871, and also served on the court from 1859 to 1864, interrupting his judicial service to become an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. As a lawyer, he was responsible for two of the most important civil rights cases of early Wisconsin history—He represented abolitionist Sherman Booth in the case of Ableman v. Booth at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in which the Wisconsin court chose to nullify enforcement of the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. He later represented Ezekiel Gillespie in the 1866 case of Gillespie v. Palmer, which resulted in the Wisconsin Supreme Court extending voting rights to African Americans in Wisconsin.[1]

  1. ^ Ranney, Joseph (November 1, 2002). "Concepts of Freedom: The Life of Justice Byron Paine". Wisconsin Lawyer. Vol. 75. Wisconsin Bar. Retrieved May 25, 2019.