Albert Schaller, Associate Justice 1915-1917

Justice Schaller Served as the County Attorney of Dakota County for Ten Years, 1880-1890.

Born in Chicago, Illinois on May 20, 1856, Albert Schaller was brought by his parents to Hastings, Minnesota when he was still an infant. After graduating from St. Vincent's College in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, he spent two years studying in France before beginning his legal education at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Schaller graduated from Washington University Law School in 1879, and was admitted to practice in Minnesota later that same year. In 1881, he married Kate Meloy, also of Hastings, and they had four children.

Schaller began his public service early, as County Attorney of Dakota County, from 1880 until 1890. He then served as legal adviser to the City of Hastings from 1891 to 1897 and City Attorney of South St. Paul from 1895 to 1899. His service to the State of Minnesota began 1895, with his election to the Minnesota State Senate, where he served for twenty years until 1915, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Minnesota by Governor Winfield S. Hammond. Justice Schaller served on the Court until January 1, 1917, and wrote eighty-eight opinions, which can be found in volumes 129 - 135 of Minnesota Reports. After leaving the Court, he practiced law in Saint Paul and Hastings until his death on March 31, 1934.

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