Edward Fox (judge)

For other people with the same name, see Edward Fox (disambiguation).

Edward Fox (June 10, 1815 – December 14, 1881) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine.

Edward Fox
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine
In office May 31, 1866 – December 14, 1881
Appointed by	Andrew Johnson
Preceded by	Ashur Ware
Succeeded by	Nathan Webb
Personal details
Born	Edward Fox (1815-06-10)June 10, 1815 Portland, Maine
Died	December 14, 1881(1881-12-14) (aged 66) Portland, Maine
Education	Harvard University Harvard Law School

Education and career

Born in Portland, Maine, Fox graduated from Harvard University in 1834, and from Harvard Law School in 1837. He practiced in Portland, and in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was city solicitor for Portland. He was the county attorney of Cumberland County, Maine.^[1] He worked with Neal Dow to draft a prohibition law, which became known as the Maine Law after the state legislature approved it in 1851. Dow claimed credit for authoring the law, but his cousin John Neal revealed Fox's contribution in the press. That contribution was the search and seizure provision, which created a new legal standard for obtaining search warrants and contributed toward to the modern probable cause standard.^[2] A decade later he was an associate justice of the Maine Supreme Court from 1862 to 1863.^[1]

Federal judicial service

On May 28, 1866, Fox was nominated by President Andrew Johnson to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Maine vacated by Judge Ashur Ware. Fox was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 30, 1866, and received his commission the next day. Fox served in this position until his death in Portland on December 14, 1881.^[1]