{{Short description|American judge (1854–1935)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} thumb|James Pennewill as chief justice in 1909 '''James C. Pennewill''' (June 16, 1854 – December 29, 1935)<ref name="Named">"[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-delaware-judges/132467069/ Delaware Judges: Governor Tunnell Completes the List Under the New Constitution]", ''The Baltimore Sun'' (June 15, 1897), p. 8.</ref><ref name="WNJ obit">"[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal-obituary-for-james-penn/132465866/ Former Chief Justice Dies In Chair After Heart Attack ]", ''The Wilmington News Journal'' (December 30, 1935), p. 1, 2.</ref> was a justice of the Delaware Supreme Court, serving as chief justice from 1909 to 1933.
==Early life, education, and career== Born in Greenwood, Delaware, to Simeon and Anna (Curry) Pennewill, he attended public and private schools in Greenwood, and prepared for college at Reynolds Academy, in Wilmington, Delaware. He graduated from Princeton University in 1875,<ref name="Named"/><ref name="WNJ obit"/> and moved to Dover, Delaware, to study law in the office of Nathaniel B. Smithers.<ref name="WNJ obit"/> Pennewill gained admission to the bar in 1878,<ref name="Named"/> and built a large practice in Dover,<ref name="WNJ obit"/> including among his clients the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.<ref name="Named"/> He was also active in politics, chairing the Kent County Republican Committee, and later the statewide Republican Committee.<ref name="Named"/><ref name="WNJ obit"/>
==Judicial service== On June 14, 1897, Governor Ebe W. Tunnell appointed Pennewill to a seat as an associate justice of the Delaware Supreme Court and Resident Judge of Kent County.<ref name="OJO">{{cite web|url=https://courts.delaware.gov/superior/aboutus/history3.aspx |title=History: Our Judicial Officers|publisher=Delaware Courts}}</ref><ref>''Biographical and Genealogical History of the State of Delaware'', Vol. 1 (1899), p. 81.</ref> Tunnell, a Democrat, named the Republican Pennewill to the court pursuant to a state law requiring that no more than three of the five judges on the court could be of the same political party.<ref name="Named"/> On June 15, 1909, Governor Simeon S. Pennewill, who was his brother, elevated Pennewill to chief justice, in which position he served until approaching the mandatory age of retirement in 1933.<ref name="OJO"/> In January 1907, he was offered an appointment to the United States Senate, but declined it.<ref name="WNJ obit"/>
==Personal life== On December 5, 1888, Pennewill married Alice Hazel. They had no children.<ref name="WNJ obit"/>
He died at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, following a heart attack while having breakfast, at the age of 81.<ref name="WNJ obit"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{succession box |title=Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court |before=Charles B. Lore |after=Daniel J. Layton |years=1909–1933}} {{succession box |title=Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court |before=Charles M. Cullen |after=Daniel J. Layton |years=1897–1933}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennewell, James}} Category:1854 births Category:1935 deaths Category:People from Greenwood, Delaware Category:Princeton University alumni Category:U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Category:Justices of the Delaware Supreme Court Category:Delaware Republicans