# Warner Cope

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{{Short description|American judge (1824–1903)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = W. W. Cope.jpg
| order = 6th
| office = Chief Justice of California
| term_start = May 20, 1863
| term_end = January 2, 1864
| predecessor = [Stephen J. Field](/source/Stephen_J._Field)
| successor = [Silas W. Sanderson](/source/Silas_W._Sanderson)
| office1 = Associate Justice of the [California Supreme Court](/source/California_Supreme_Court)
| term_start1 = September 20, 1859
| term_end1 = May 20, 1863
|appointer1=Governor [John B. Weller](/source/John_B._Weller)
| predecessor1 = [David S. Terry](/source/David_S._Terry)
| successor1 = [Edwin B. Crocker](/source/Edwin_B._Crocker)
| pronunciation             =
| birth_name                = 
| birth_date                = {{Birth date|1824|01|31}}
| birth_place               =[Kentucky](/source/Kentucky), U.S.
| death_date                = {{death date and age|1903|1|17|1824|1|31}}
| death_place               =[San Francisco, California](/source/San_Francisco%2C_California), U.S.
| death_cause               =
| resting_place             =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| spouse                    = {{marriage|Martha Ann Neal|April 19, 1845}} 
}}

'''Warner Walton Cope''' (January 31, 1824 – January 17, 1903), also known as '''W. W. Cope''', was the sixth [Chief Justice of California](/source/Chief_Justice_of_California).

==Biography==
Born in [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky), Cope came to California in 1850 and tried mining, but found little success. In 1853 he resumed work as an attorney, first in [El Dorado County](/source/El_Dorado_County%2C_California) and the next year in [Jackson](/source/Jackson%2C_California), [Amador County](/source/Amador_County%2C_California). In October 1858, he was elected to the [California State Assembly](/source/California_State_Assembly) from [Amador](/source/Amador_County%2C_California) as a Democrat.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Next Legislature|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LASTAR18581002.2.21&srpos=127&e=-------en--20--121--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=Los Angeles Star|issue=21|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=2 October 1858|page=2}}</ref>

In June 1859 he was nominated by [Alvinza Hayward](/source/Alvinza_Hayward),<ref>"Democratic Lecompton Convention, Third Day," ''Sacramento Daily Union'', Vol. 17, Number 2573, June 25, 1859.</ref> also of Amador County, to be the candidate of the Democratic Lecompton Party for associate justice of the [Supreme Court of California](/source/Supreme_Court_of_California).<ref>{{cite news|title=News of the Morning|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18590813.2.8&srpos=58&e=-------en--20--41--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=Sacramento Daily Union|issue=17|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=13 August 1859|page=3|quote=The remarks made by W. W. Cope, candidate for Supreme Judge, at the Lecompton Mass Meeting}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Democratic State Ticket|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=TCR18590813.2.8&srpos=12&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 19, 2017|work=Tulare County Record|issue=8|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=13 August 1859|volume = 1|page=2}}</ref>  In September 1859, he was elected, but before his term was to begin he was appointed by Governor [John B. Weller](/source/John_B._Weller) to fill a vacancy on the court starting September 20, 1859, when [David S. Terry](/source/David_S._Terry) resigned to fight a duel.<ref>{{cite news|title=W. W. Cope has been appointed by Gov. Weller, as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LASTAR18591001.2.11&srpos=126&e=-------en--20--121--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=Los Angeles Star|issue=21|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=1 October 1859|page=2}}</ref><ref name="copeobit">{{cite news|title=Deaths of the Day, W. W. Cope|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19030118.2.46&srpos=56&e=-------en--20--41--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=Los Angeles Herald|issue=106|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=18 January 1903|page=5}}</ref><ref name="history">[https://archive.org/stream/baysanfrancisco01compgoog/baysanfrancisco01compgoog_djvu.txt The Bay of San Francisco: The Metropolis of the Pacific Coast, and Its Suburban Cities. A History]. Lewis Publishing Co., 1892. Google Books. Retrieved July 8, 2017 (Stating term start date of September 15, 1859).</ref> He became Chief Justice on March 11, 1863, filling the vacancy after [President](/source/President_of_the_United_States) [Abraham Lincoln](/source/Abraham_Lincoln) appointed [Stephen J. Field](/source/Stephen_J._Field) to the [U.S. Supreme Court](/source/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=J. Edward|title=History of the California Supreme Court: The Justices 1850-1900, vol 1|date=1963|publisher=Bender Moss Co|location=San Francisco, CA|pages=81–83|url=http://library.courtinfo.ca.gov/included/docs/SCJC_Vol_1.pdf|accessdate=August 14, 2017|archive-date=December 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227124913/http://library.courtinfo.ca.gov/included/docs/SCJC_Vol_1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Cope himself left the court at the end of that year when a constitutional amendment required new judicial elections.<ref name="history"/>

In 1877, Cope was a judge on the Fourth District Court.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Late General John Wilson|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18770204.2.39&srpos=14&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 19, 2017|work=Daily Alta California|issue=20|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=4 February 1877|page=2|quote=The Fourth District Court, on motion of Judge W. W. Cope, adjourned yesterday}}</ref> In 1880, he was a delegate to the [Democratic Party](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) state convention.<ref>{{cite news|title=Alameda County Politics|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18800425.2.12&srpos=38&e=-------en--20--21--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=Daily Alta California|issue=32|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=25 April 1880|page=1}}</ref> In 1883, Cope became the [California Reporter of Decisions](/source/California_Reporter_of_Decisions), and in March 1885 was appointed to a four-year term as commissioner of the Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite news|title=Supreme Court Commissioners|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18850318.2.17&srpos=16&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=Daily Alta California|issue=38|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=18 March 1885|page=1}}</ref>

After leaving the court, Cope returned to private practice<ref>{{cite news|title=The Park Commission|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18891029.2.4&srpos=64&e=-------en--20--61--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=Daily Alta California|issue=121|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=29 October 1889|volume = 81|page=1|quote=W. W. Cope has been retained, and by consent he will make an argument before Judge Hoge when the case is called}}</ref> until about 1893, when he retired to [Contra Costa County](/source/Contra_Costa_County%2C_California), where he raised nuts and fruit. He died in [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco) on January 17, 1903.<ref name="copeobit"/>

==Bar activities==
From 1880 to 1885, Cope was president of the San Francisco Bar Association.<ref name="basf"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Bar Association Officers|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18850112.2.10&srpos=6&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 19, 2017|work=Daily Alta California|issue=38|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=12 January 1885|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=In Memoriam|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18821115.2.13&srpos=100&e=-------en--20--81--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=Daily Alta California|issue=34|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=15 November 1882|page=1|quote=The San Francisco Bar Association met yesterday afternoon, with President W. W. Cope in the chair.}}</ref>

==Personal life==
On April 19, 1845, Cope married Martha Ann Neal in [Shelby County, Kentucky](/source/Shelby_County%2C_Kentucky).<ref>{{cite news|title=Death Lays Claim to an Estimable Lady, Mrs. Martha A. Cope, Wife of Judge W. W. Cope, Passes Away|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19020119.2.230&srpos=17&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=San Francisco Call|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=19 January 1902|page=33}}</ref> He traveled to California in 1850, and his wife followed in 1856. They had three sons and three daughters.<ref>{{cite news|title=Singer for Fabiola Charity to Become Toronto Man's Bride|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19120121.2.110.3&srpos=30&e=-------en--20--21--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=San Francisco Call|issue=52|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=21 January 1912|volume = 111|page=49|quote=Her grandfather was the late Justice W. W. Cope of the supreme court.}}</ref> One of his sons, Walter B. Cope, was a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge and a prominent California lawyer in the firm of [Morrison, Cope & Brobeck](/source/Morrison_%26_Foerster).<ref>[https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19091206.2.23 "Judge W. B. Cope Called by Death, Former Superior Judge of Santa Barbara County and Well-Known Lawyer Dies"], ''San Francisco Call'' 107(6), 6 December 1909. p. 3. California Historical Newspaper Collection. Retrieved July 8, 2017.</ref>  Like his father, Walter also served as president of the San Francisco Bar Association, from 1906 to 1909.<ref name="basf">[http://www.sfbar.org/about/past_presidents.aspx BASF Past Presidents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820035842/http://www.sfbar.org/about/past_presidents.aspx |date=2008-08-20 }}. Retrieved July 8, 2017.</ref>

==See also==
* [List of justices of the Supreme Court of California](/source/List_of_justices_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_California)
* [California Reporter of Decisions](/source/California_Reporter_of_Decisions)
* [Stephen Johnson Field](/source/Stephen_Johnson_Field)
* [Joseph G. Baldwin](/source/Joseph_G._Baldwin)
* [Edward Norton](/source/Edward_Norton_(judge))
* [Edwin B. Crocker](/source/Edwin_B._Crocker)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite news|title=Speech of W. W. Cope at the Lecompton Mass Meeting|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18590813.2.5&srpos=85&e=-------en--20--81--txt-txIN-%22W.+W.+cope%22-------1|accessdate=July 18, 2017|work=Sacramento Daily Union|issue=17|publisher=California Digital Newspaper Collection|date=13 August 1859|page=1}}
* [http://www.cschs.org/history/california-supreme-court-justices/w-w-cope/ In Memoriam W. W. Cope]. 140 Cal. Rpts. 714 (1904). California Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
* [http://www.courts.ca.gov/12523.htm Past & Present Justices]. California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

{{S-start}}
{{S-legal}}
{{Succession box |
  before= [Stephen J. Field](/source/Stephen_J._Field)| |
  title= [Chief Justice of California](/source/Chief_Justice_of_California) |
  years= 1863–1864 |
  after= [Silas Sanderson](/source/Silas_Sanderson)}}
{{Succession box |
  before= [David S. Terry](/source/David_S._Terry) |
  title= Associate Justice of the [California Supreme Court](/source/California_Supreme_Court) |
  years= 1859–1863 |
  after=[Edwin B. Crocker](/source/Edwin_B._Crocker) }}
{{S-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, Warner}}
Category:1824 births
Category:1903 deaths
Category:Chief justices of California
Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of California
Category:People from Jackson, California
Category:Lawyers from San Francisco
Category:U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law
Category:19th-century California state court judges
Category:19th-century American lawyers
Category:Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
Category:People of the California Gold Rush
Category:People from Shelby County, Kentucky
Category:19th-century members of the California State Legislature

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Warner Cope](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Cope) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Cope?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.