Esther Hobart Morris - Justice in South Pass City

Justice in South Pass City

Esther Morris had hardly settled in her new home in South Pass City when District Court Judge John W. Kingman appointed her as justice of the peace in 1870. It took some "prodding" but Morris subsequently completed an application for the post and submitted a required $500 bond. The Sweetwater County Board of Commissioners in a vote of two to one approved her application on February 14, 1870.

Subsequently, the county clerk telegraphed a press release announcing the historic event of the first woman justice of the peace. The Wyoming Territory's enfranchisement of women to vote in 1869 made Morris' unprecedented appointment possible. The clerk's telegraph to the world in part read:

"Wyoming, the youngest and one of the richest Territories in the United States, gave equal rights to women in actions as well as words."

Morris' momentous appointment followed the resignation of Justice R. S. Barr, who quit in protest of the territorial legislature's passage of the women's suffrage amendment in December 1869. However, according to author Lynne Cheney writing in American Heritage magazine, the county board appointed Morris to complete the term of Judge J. W. Stillman.

Morris began her tenure as justice in South Pass City in 1870 by arresting Stillman, who refused to hand over his court docket. Ultimately, Morris dismissed her own case with a ruling that she as an interested party did not have the authority to arrest Stillman, according to author Lynne Cheney. Morris began anew with her own docket, holding court sitting on a wood slab in the living room of her log cabin. Cheney notes:

"When the lawyers who appeared in her court tried to embarrass her with legal terms and technicalities, she admitted her lack of training but was quick to let them know just whose court they were in. One of the lawyers who practiced before her recalled that 'to pettifoggers she showed no mercy.'"

Morris looked to her sons for support in the courtroom. She appointed Archibald as district clerk and Robert as a part-time deputy clerk with the tasks of keeping court records and drawing up arrest warrants. Unfortunately her husband John's support was not so forthcoming. John actively opposed his wife's appointment and reportedly made such a scene in her court that Esther had him jailed.

Judge Morris ruled on 27 cases during her more than eight months in office, including nine criminal cases. None were overturned according to records at the Wyoming State Archives, although a few cases were appealed but upheld by the appellate court. Morris held her justice of the peace post until the term that she had been appointed to fill expired on December 6, 1870. Morris sought reelection but failed to muster a nomination from either the Republican or Democratic Party.

Morris' historic judgeship not surprisingly garnered favorable review upon the completion of her term in the South Pass News, as her son Archibald was the editor. However, the historical record reveals little fanfare in the remainder of Wyoming's press. The Wyoming Tribune, published in Cheyenne, did note the comments of Territorial Secretary Lee: "the people of Sweetwater County had not the good sense and judgment to nominate and elect her for the ensuing term."