The Supreme Court of New Jersey. applicable to the case before him; dispas sionate, alert in decision, swift in discernment, ready to act on the strength of his own con victions, careful ever to do just what is right, irrespective of public clamor or of personal interest, conservative in thought and action, able to express himself strongly in few words, capable of marshalling human testimony, and of reconciling its apparent inconsistencies, dignified and courteous. He is a consummate trial lawyer, and has a power of compressing his charges to juries into a few lucid sentences, which, however, are so expressive that juries never fail to understand exactly what is his meaning. His circuit is composed of the counties of Bergen and Passaic. He is now in his third term of office, having been renominated twice, and each time by a Democratic Governor. While Justice he was nominated by a Re publican convention for governor. He did not seek the nomination, and, in fact, was opposed to the candidacy. He therefore refused to resign his office as judge, but was defeated. In private life Judge Dixon is the most genial of men, delights in the society of friends, and indulges in quiet mirth. He is fond of general reading, and delights in the higher branches of the very best literature. Alfred Reed was born in December. 1839, in Mercer County. He was educated for col lege in the very best academies, and in 1859 entered Rutgers College. In 1860 he con nected himself with the law school at Poughkeepsie, and in 1862 sought and obtained admission to the bar in the State of New York. He seems, however, not to have been pleased with the practice of the pro fession in that State, as he returned to Tren ton, resumed the study of the law there, and was admitted to the bar in New Jersey in 1864. He became a member of the Com mon Council of Trenton in 1865, and was made President of that body. In 1867 he was elected Mayor of Trenton, in which ca pacity he served for one full term. In 1869 he was appointed President Judge of the 66
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Courts of Common Pleas and Quarter Ses sion for Mercer County, in which office he remained for five years. On the eighth day of April, 1875, he was commissioned an As sociate Justice of the Supreme Court, and took his seat at the June term of the courts of which he thus became a member. At the time of his nomination for this office he was the youngest judge on the bench. In fact, he won all his honors in early manhood. He became President of the Common Coun cil at twenty-six, Mayor at twenty-eight, Law Judge when only thirty, and Associate Justice when just passed thirty-six. But he was fully equipped for all these positions, which he had honored by accepting. He had pre pared himself for his law practice by study and research, and his subsequent history has shown that no mistake was made in his ele vation to the bench. His first term expired in 1882, since which time he has been again re-nominated and confirmed, and is now serv ing on his third term. He rendered no opinion until the Novem ber term of the year of his nomination. His first decision was given in a case of not much importance, but it was of a character which enabled the young judge to show his ability and skill. Since that time he has been industriously engaged in the perform ance of his duties as judge. His circuit is a large one, composed of the four counties of Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, and Atlan tic, and he is one of the busiest of the judges, not so much, however, by the importance of the cases brought before him as from the number and frequency of the terms of his courts, of which there are twelve each year in his four counties, in addition to which he is necessarily obliged to attend eight terms in the Supreme Court and Court of Errors, making eighteen terms each year in all. It can well be imagined that Judge Reed has his time well occupied. His opinions are marked by one peculiar ity; he delights to break them up into short, pithy sentences, and his early decisions were easily distinguished, without much examina
