Jason Downer

Jason Downer (September 9, 1813 – September 1, 1883) was an American lawyer, judge, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1864 to 1867. Earlier in his life, he was one of the earliest editors of the Milwaukee Sentinel in 1845, but quit after a half year to return to his legal career. He was the namesake of Milwaukee-Downer College and Downer Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Early life Downer was born in Sharon, Vermont, in September 1813. He was raised and worked from his youth on his father's farm until age 19, when he entered Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire. He subsequently attended Dartmouth College from 1834 until graduating in 1838.

Shortly after graduating, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he read law and was soon after admitted to the bar.

Judicial career In the Fall of 1864, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Byron Paine resigned from the court to accept a commission in the Union Army in the midst of the American Civil War. Several candidates applied for appointment to succeed Paine, but the governor, James T. Lewis, chose Downer. Downer was described at the time as highly qualified and impartial.

Downer stood for election the next spring and won a full term on the court without facing opposition. Downer did not enjoy judicial duties, however, and resigned from the court in September 1867. This also allowed Byron Paine—by then returned from the war—to reclaim his seat, as the governor appointed him to succeed Downer.

He also wrote the court's opinion in the case of Druecker v. Salomon, in which Druecker sued former Wisconsin governor Edward Salomon for having him arrested for resisting the draft during the Civil War. Downer held that the draft was lawfully constituted and that conspiracy to resist the draft was akin to levying war against the United States, and thus the governor was within his rights to arrest the plaintiff for insurrection.

After leaving the Supreme Court, Downer was briefly induced to return to the bench in 1869 when he was appointed to fill the last few months of Arthur McArthur's term as Wisconsin circuit court judge for the 2nd circuit. Otherwise, he devoted the rest of his life to his legal practice.

Personal life and legacy Jason Downer was the second of seven children born to Solomon Downer and his wife Martha ( Huntington). The Downers were descended from Robert Downer, who emigrated from Salisbury, England, to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s.

Downer married twice but had no known children.

Downer Avenue in Milwaukee was named in his honor in 1898. Several additional Milwaukee landmarks bear the "Downer" name—such as the Downer Woods neighborhood and the Downer Theatre—but those are due to their association with Downer Avenue, not specifically for Downer himself.