William Story (attorney)

William Story (April 4, 1843 – June 20, 1921) was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas and later the seventh Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, serving from 1891 to 1893 under Governor of Colorado John Long Routt.

William Story
7th Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
In office
1891–1893
GovernorJohn Long Routt
Preceded byWilliam Grover Smith
Succeeded byDavid H. Nichols
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
In office
March 3, 1871 – June 17, 1874
Appointed byUlysses S. Grant
Preceded bySeat established by 16 Stat. 471
Succeeded byIsaac Parker
Personal details
Born
William Story

(1843-04-04)April 4, 1843
Waukesha County, Territory of Wisconsin
DiedJune 20, 1921(1921-06-20) (aged 78)
Los Angeles, California
EducationUniversity of Michigan

Education and career

Born in Waukesha County, Wisconsin,[1] Story graduated from the University of Michigan in 1864, and was in the United States Army, Thirty-ninth Regular Wisconsin Infantry, from 1864 to 1865.[1] He was in private practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1865 to 1866, and in Fayetteville, Arkansas from 1866 to 1867.[1] He was a Judge of the Circuit Court of Arkansas for the Second Judicial Circuit Court of Arkansas from 1867 to 1871, sitting as a "special Chief Justice" of the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1869.[1]

Federal judicial service

Story was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 3, 1871, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, to a new seat authorized by 16 Stat. 471.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 3, 1871, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on June 17, 1874, due to his resignation.[1]

Circumstances of his resignation

Congress investigated Story in 1874 for, among other things, inordinately large undocumented court expenditures and for allowing bail for persons convicted of capital crimes while they were awaiting sentence.[Note 1][2][3]

The House committee found that Story’s testimony was “lame, disconnected and unsatisfactory.”[Note 1][2] Within the month after publication of the committee investigation and report in the Arkansas Gazette, Story resigned and moved to Denver, Colorado.[2][4]

Later career and death

Story then moved to Colorado, settling first in Denver, in 1877, and then moving to Ouray.[1] He built up a large law practice, and during his first ten years in practice he served as attorney for the City and County of Denver. He had other interests in mining, banking, building of roads and railroads (Rio Grande Southern). He served as the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado from 1891 to 1893.[1] In 1913, he moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where he established a law practice, Story & Steigmeyer. He then relocated to Los Angeles, California where he died in 1921.[5]

Note
  1. The committee compared expenditures for the entire state for the three years before the Civil War with expenditures in the Western District for the three years after its creation in 1871, which corresponded with Story’s stewardship as district judge. From 1858 through 1860, the average expenditure per year was $20,000 for the entire state. Under Story’s tenure the expenditures for the Western District alone averaged more than $241,000 per year. Arkanasas Gazette, June 9, 1874.

References
  1. William Story at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. "Why Judges Resign: Influences on Federal Judicial Service, 1789 to 1992 - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  3. Eric Leonard (April 19, 2015). "I.C. Parker, U.S. District Judge". nps.gov.
  4. David Bowden, Little Rock, Arkansas (December 21, 2017). "United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas".CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. William Story at Find a Grave

Sources
Legal offices
Preceded by
Seat established by 16 Stat. 471		 Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
1871–1874		 Succeeded by
Isaac Parker
Political offices
Preceded by
William Grover Smith		 Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
1891–1893		 Succeeded by
David H. Nichols
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