The Honorable Byron Paine
Associate Justice of theWisconsin Supreme Court
In office September 1867 – January 13, 1871 (death)
Appointed by	Lucius Fairchild
Preceded by	Jason Downer
Succeeded by	William P. Lyon
In office June 1, 1859 – August 1864
Preceded by	Abram D. Smith
Succeeded by	Jason Downer
Chief Clerk of theWisconsin Senate
In office January 9, 1856 – January 14, 1857
Preceded by	Samuel G. Bugh
Succeeded by	William Henry Brisbane
Personal details
Born	(1827-10-10)October 10, 1827 Painesville, Ohio, U.S.
Died	January 13, 1871(1871-01-13) (aged 43) Monona, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery,Madison, Wisconsin
Spouse	Clarissa R. Wyman ​ ​ (m. 1854⁠–⁠1871)​
Children	James Percy Paine (b. 1856; died young) Norman Paine (b. 1858; died young) Arthur Paine (b. 1860; died young) Wendell Wyman Paine (b. 1862; died 1887) George Wyman Paine (b. 1866; died 1937) Byron Dixon Paine (b. 1871; died 1931)
Parents	Gen. James H. Paine (father) Marilla Paine (mother)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Volunteers Union Army
Years of service	1864–1865
Rank	Lt. Colonel,USV
Unit	43rd Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/wars	American Civil War Franklin–Nashville Campaign Battle of Johnsonville Battle of Nashville

Byron Paine (October 10, 1827 – January 13, 1871) was an American lawyer, judge, andWisconsin pioneer. He was a justice of theWisconsin Supreme Court from 1867 until his death in 1871, and also served on the court from 1859 to 1864, interrupting his judicial service to become an officer in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War. As a lawyer, he was responsible for two of the most important civil rights cases of early Wisconsin history—He represented abolitionistSherman Booth in the case ofAbleman v. Booth at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in which the Wisconsin court chose to nullify enforcement of the federalFugitive Slave Act of 1850. He later representedEzekiel Gillespie in the 1866 case ofGillespie v. Palmer, which resulted in the Wisconsin Supreme Court extendingvoting rights to African Americans in Wisconsin.^[1]

Paine was born inPainesville, Ohio, to General James H. Paine and Marilla Paine.^[2] He moved toMilwaukee in 1847 with his father and studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1849, and entered a legal partnership, Jas. H. Paine & Sons, with his father and his brother, Hortensius.^[3]

As a young lawyer, he was a close friend of theabolitionistSherman Booth. And in 1854, when Booth was on trial for violating theFugitive Slave Act, Paine represented him as his lawyerwithout compensation. Paine argued on his behalf in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in the case ofAbleman v. Booth.^[2]

At Paine's funeral, JusticeHarlow S. Orton remarked that he had, "made one of the clearest, most conclusive and most eloquent arguments against the constitutionality of the fugitive slave law made in any court in the country." Paine won the case and became the only lawyer to successfully argue that fugitive slave laws violated the sovereignty of the northern states. Although theUnited States Supreme Court did eventually overrule the Wisconsin decision.^[2]

Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief JusticeEdward George Ryan, who had opposed Paine in the Booth case as attorney for the United States, said of him:^[2]

The first opportunity I had of forming an estimate of his high ability, was in the famous case under the fugitive slave act, in 1854 and 1855. He was employed for the defendant; I, for the United States. We both brought to the case, not only ordinary professional zeal, but all the prejudices of all our lives. He was a frank and manly abolitionist. I was as decidedly what was called pro-slavery. We were both thoroughly in earnest... I thought him a fanatic. He probably thought me one. Possibly we both were.

In the1856 session of theWisconsin Senate, Paine served as Chief Clerk. In 1857 he was elected Judge inMilwaukee County, where he served until his election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1859.^[2][4]

Paine's term on the Supreme Court was set to expirein 1865, but in the midst of theAmerican Civil War, in 1864, Paine chose to resign from the Court and enlist with theUnion Army.^[4][5] He was commissioned as lieutenant colonel for the newly raised43rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, serving under ColonelAmasa Cobb.^[4] The regiment was assigned to Tennessee to defend railroad and supply lines, and saw some combat during theFranklin–Nashville Campaign near the end of the war.^[2][6]

After the Civil War, Paine returned to Milwaukee and resumed practicing law. During this period, he participated in another significantcivil rights case, when he representedEzekiel Gillespie in the 1866 case ofGillespie v. Palmer. Gillespie was a former slave who attempted to vote in Milwaukee in 1865, but was turned away. Paine argued that Wisconsin had granted voting rights to African Americans through an 1849 law and referendum, which had been ignored for the previous 17 years. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in Gillespie's favor, ruling that African Americans had the right to vote in Wisconsin.^[7][8]

In 1867,Jason Downer, who had succeeded Paine on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, resigned. Wisconsin GovernorLucius Fairchild appointed Paine to fill the vacancy. Paine served on the Supreme Court until his death in January 1871.^[4]

Byron Paine was the third of at least four children born to General James H. Paine and his wife Marilla. James Paine was an attorney and newspaper editor, and was an avowed abolitionist. While living in Painesville, Ohio, he was a member of an 1834 citizens committee assigned to investigate the origin of theBook of Mormon—their finding was that it was a fiction.^[9]

Byron Paine married Clarissa Wyman in 1854. They had six sons, but only three survived infancy. In addition to his legal pursuits, Paine was an avid reader and enjoyed studyingtheology.

Paine died at age 44 on January 13, 1871, at his home inMonona, Wisconsin, after suffering for two months fromErysipelas andPneumonia.^[4][10]

• Byron Paine atFind a Grave

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Byron Paine

• 1827 births
• 1871 deaths
• People from Painesville, Ohio
• Politicians from Milwaukee
• Lawyers from Milwaukee
• People from Monona, Wisconsin
• Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
• People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War
• Union army officers
• 19th-century Wisconsin state court judges
• 19th-century American lawyers
• Abolitionists from Wisconsin
• Wisconsin lawyers
• Wisconsin pioneers
• Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Madison, Wisconsin)

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