Tapping the Scales of Justice - A Dose of Connecticut Legal History
Zephaniah Swift's First Legal Texts in America
Judge Swift has been praised as one of the greatest early American jurists
by Wesley W. Horton in his book, The Connecticut State Constitution. Swift
studied at Yale before entering the practice of law, and represented the
town of Windham in the General Assembly of Connecticut. He was elected to
the U.S. Congress where he served from 1787 to 1793. A brief paragraph in
the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress states he "also
engaged in literary pursuits."
More specifically, Swift wrote the first legal treatise published in America. This work, A System of the Law of the
State of Connecticut, published in 1795, presents Swift's observations on
government, the constitution of the state, and differences between English
and American common law. In 1810, Swift published the first treatise on the
law of evidence.
Appointed a judge of the Superior Court in 1801, Swift rose to the position of Chief Judge in 1815. Judge Swift sometimes generated
controversy as in Lung's Case, 1 Conn. 428 (1815). Peter Lung was convicted
of murder and sentenced to death, with Swift as one of the three presiding
judges. Lung appealed to the State Legislature and, citing irregularities in
the grand jury proceedings, the Assembly ordered a new trial. Judge Swift
published a pamphlet criticizing the action stating in part, "...the
legislature should never encroach on the judiciary..."
With the adoption of the Connecticut Constitution of 1818, Judge Swift lost his position on
the bench, and returned to Windham to represent the town once again in the
General Assembly. During this time, he completed his best known work, A
Digest of the Laws of the State of Connecticut. Swift's digest and his
judicial opinions are still cited today.
For further discussions of Judge Zephaniah Swift and the legal developments of the time, see 19 Conn. Bar J. 181, and 27 Conn. Bar J. 419.