Jerome Fuller, Chief Justice, Territorial Supreme Court, 1851-1852

Chief Justice Fuller served one term on the court despite his nomination being rejected.

Jerome Fuller was born in 1808 in Litchfield, Connecticut to parents Alpheus Fuller and Amy Turrill. His mother died when he was 7. He married Lucy Pratt on October 27, 1834 and had two sons. He moved to Brockport, New York and he served as a New York state senator for the 27th District from 1848 to 1849. He also worked as an editor of the Albany Register.

He was appointed Chief Justice of the Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court by President Millard Fillmore on November 13, 1851, replacing Aaron Goodrich. The United States Senate rejected his appointment, but word of the rejection did not reach St. Paul until after Fuller had arrived here and begun his duties.

Fuller served on the court from November 13, 1851 to December 16, 1852, participating in one term of the court. During that time he authored 4 opinions. Subsequently he returned to Brockport, New York, where he was elected County Judge. He died there on September 2, 1880.

You may read more about the life and work of Chief Justice Fuller in the articles, linked below, and in the Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society's book: Testimony: Remembering Minnesota's Supreme Court Justices which is a source of this brief biography.