Zephaniah Swift was an eighteenth-century American writer, judge, lawyer, chief justice, congressman, law professor, diplomat and politician from Windham, Connecticut.
27 Facts About Zephaniah Swift
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Zephaniah Swift served as a US Representative from Connecticut and State Supreme Court Judge.
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Zephaniah Swift wrote the first legal treatise published in America.
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Zephaniah Swift was appointed secretary to Founding Father Oliver Ellsworth by President John Adams at the Treaty of Mortefontaine, in negotiations with King Joseph Bonaparte.
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Zephaniah Swift completed preparatory studies and graduated from Yale College in 1778.
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Zephaniah Swift studied law, was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law in Windham, Connecticut.
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Zephaniah Swift served in the Connecticut General Assembly from 1787 to 1793, serving as speaker in 1792, and clerk of the lower house for four sessions.
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In 1795, Zephaniah Swift wrote "A System of the Law of the State of Connecticut", the first legal treatise published in America.
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For over a hundred years, Swift's work on this publication was wrongly credited to the publisher, Richard Folwell, until historian Clarence E Carter established that Zephania Swift deserved credit for the project.
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Zephaniah Swift wrote "A Digest of the Laws of the State of Connecticut" which was published in 1820.
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Zephaniah Swift wrote the first American treatise on the law of evidence.
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Zephaniah Swift's publications were highly regarded around the United States and are still cited today.
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Zephaniah Swift ran a successful law school for many years out of his office, which became known as Zephaniah Swift's Law School.
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Zephaniah Swift was a member of the Connecticut council of assistants in 1799 and 1801.
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Zephaniah Swift served as secretary of the French mission in 1800 to Oliver Ellsworth, having been appointed by President Adams, along with Chief-Justice Ellsworth, William Vans Murray and Patrick Henry.
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Zephaniah Swift was a judge on the Connecticut Supreme Court beginning in 1801 and served as the chief justice from 1806 to 1819.
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Zephaniah Swift was appointed as a delegate to the Hartford Convention from 1814 to 1815, which among other things debated secession in opposition to the War of 1812.
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Zephaniah Swift was an early proponent of judicial independence, which may have been the ultimate reason why he was not reappointed to the bench in 1818.
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Zephaniah Swift was outspoken in denouncing legislative interference with the courts, including the power to grant new trials and the setting aside of judgments.
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Nevertheless, Zephaniah Swift's views regarding the importance of protecting judicial independence was validated with the adoption of the 1818 Constitution.
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Historians have recognized that Zephaniah Swift was a "moving force" in convening the convention of 1818 to draft Connecticut's first constitution.
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Zephaniah Swift supported softening criminal laws by making prisons more comfortable and by lessening the number of offenses punishable by the death penalty.
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Zephaniah Swift argued against this limitation, which is a widely accepted and necessary judicial function.
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In 1815 Zephaniah Swift received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Yale College.
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Zephaniah Swift again served as a member of the State's House of Representatives, serving from 1820 to 1822.
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Zephaniah Swift was an unsuccessful Federalist candidate for Governor of Connecticut in both the 1822 and 1823 elections.
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Zephaniah Swift died on September 27,1823, while visiting his children in Warren, Ohio.