Wilson W. Hoover: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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President [[Chester A. Arthur]] nominated Hoover to replace [[William Henry Stilwell]] as an Associate Justice on the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court on July 20, 1882.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062082/1882-07-21/ed-1/seq-1/#words=Hoove&proxtext=hoover|title=Another Judge|date=July 21, 1882|work=The Phoenix Herald|page=1}}</ref> [[Senate confirmation]] came on August 7 and Hoover arrived in [[Tucson, Arizona]] to take the oath of office on September 2. As Hoover had been in Washington during the confirmation process he returned to California to settle some personal matters, returning to the territory to begin a district court session on September 25, 1882.{{sfn|Goff|1975|p=89}} At the end of the session he reported to the [[United States Attorney General]] that he had tried 23 civil cases and reached a final verdict in 44 criminal trials.{{sfn|Goff|1975|p=89}}

During his confirmation hearings, Hoover had provided testimony in prosecutions related to the [[Star route scandal]].{{sfn|Goff|1975|p=89}}<ref name="BETranscript">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BvYzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7SIIAAAAIBAJ&pg=3203,1243870&dq=wilson+hoover+arizona&hl=en|title=The Star Route Bribery Cases|date=October 19, 1882|work=Boston Evening Transcript|page=8}}</ref> As a favor to the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]], he returned to [[Washington D.C.]] in mid-November 1882 to provide additional testimony.{{sfn|Goff|1975|p=89}} Hoover arrived in [[Prescott, Arizona|Prescott, Arizona Territory]] on January 4, 1883 for the session of the supreme court that had begun three days earlier.{{sfn|Goff|1975|pp=89-90}} The session adjourned on January 8 before reconvening in [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]] on February 23 and ending on March 6, 1883. No opinions written by Hoover from the session survive, but the territorial press were impressed by his demeanor and legal ability.{{sfn|Goff|1975|p=90}}

While Hoover was traveling, Captain W. H. Seamans began efforts to have the new judge removed from the [[Bench (law)|bench]]. Seamans had lost his job as Justice Stilwell's court clerk when Hoover took office.{{sfn|Goff|1975|p=89}} In addition to charges of misconduct while in office, Hoover was accused of being an associate of a "professional confidence man".{{sfn|Goff|1968|p=231}} Upon learning of the efforts, Hoover and his friend began a defense against the charges. In response to various letters to Washington and circulated petitions, the territorial bar discussed the issue during their January 1883 meeting and reported there was no basis for the charges leveled against Hoover. A vote during the bar's March 1883 meeting likewise rejected the accusations against the judge.{{sfn|Goff|1975|p=89}} Following the usual practice of the day, the [[United States Justice Department]] sent an agent to investigate the accusations against the judge.{{sfn|Goff|1975|p=90}} The investigation resulted in Hoover being suspended on March 23, 1883.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84021913/1883-03-24/ed-1/seq-2/#words=Hoover+Judge&proxtext=judge+hoover|title=Suspension of Judge Hoover|date=March 24, 1883|work=Arizona Silver Belt|page=2|location=Globe City, Arizona Territory}}</ref>