Daggett, of New Haven, and Nathaniel Smith, of Woodbury, two of the ablest and most pop ular lawyers of the day, thereupon resigned from the Council. It is interesting to note that in the reports the names of one or both of them as attorney appear in sixtyfive of the ninety-two cases next following their resignation.
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In 1801 another judge was added to the Superior Court, mak ing six in all, and the Court divided into two divisions, three judges in each, for cir cuit duty. The sum mer session was by the full court, once in each county, for the de termination of issues of law and equity arising on demurrers, special verdicts, writs of error, petitions for new trials, and cases reserved by the judges on the circuit for the advice of the full bench. The Superior Court, being a com pact body of experi enced trial judges, with such an elastic system for the determination HENRY M. of questions of law, was extremely effi cient. The Council, with its abundance of legal talent, was an able tribunal; but in 1807 its judicial power was transferred to the full bench of the Superior Court. The number of judges was at the same time in creased to nine. By the Constitution of 181 8 the number of judges was reduced to five, circuit duty to be performed by them singly. Since that time, although it has several times been necessary to increase the number of trial judges, the judges of the Supreme Court have remained five in number, — excepting
some slight and temporary changes. The Constitution made the tenure that of good behavior, which was in 1856 changed to a term of eight years, and has so remained. In 1855 the County Courts were abolished, and the Superior Court given original juris diction of all civil causes of importance. From 1807, when the powers of a Supreme Court were transferred from the Council to the judges of the Su perior Court, until the re-organization of the court under the Con stitution in 1819, is in some respects the most interesting pe riod in the court's his tory. Not only was the whole judicial power for the first time confided to one com petent tribunal, but the Federalists, with their proud record of patriotic service and their old-fashioned ideas of the dignity of official station, put their best men into the court. It was an aristocratic body, whose members were never removed except WATTE. by promotion. During this period three Chief-Justices served, — Stephen M. Mitchell, Tapping Reeve, and Zephaniah Swift, — each of whom was at the time of his appointment the senior member of the court. The story of Judge Mitchell's life is one of active devotion to public service, followed and rewarded by a happy and honored old age. His only home was in Wethersfield, where he was born in 1743 and died in 1835. After graduating at Yale and spending a short time there as tutor, he continued his legal studies, already begun, under the guidance of Jareil
