Field, David Dudley definition of Field, David Dudley in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Field, David Dudley, 1805–94, American lawyer and law reformer, b. Haddam, Conn.; brother of Cyrus W. Field Field, Cyrus West, 1819–92, American merchant, promoter of the first Atlantic cable, b. Stockbridge, Mass.; brother of David Dudley Field and Stephen J. Field . As head of a paper business, he accumulated a modest fortune, and in 1853 he retired.
..... Click the link for more information. and Stephen J. Field Field, Stephen Johnson, 1816–99, American jurist, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1863–97), b. Haddam, Conn. After practicing law for several years in New York City with his brother David Dudley Field , he went to California in 1849, settled
..... Click the link for more information. . He was graduated from Williams (1825), studied law in Albany and New York City, was admitted to the bar in 1828, and soon had a large practice in New York City. After the Civil War he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court several cases involving significant constitutional issues. He was also counsel for Jay Gould Gould, Jay, 1836–92, American speculator, b. Delaware co., N.Y. A country-store clerk and surveyor's assistant, he rose to control half the railroad mileage in the Southwest, New York City's elevated railroads, and the Western Union Telegraph Company.
..... Click the link for more information. and James Fisk Fisk, James, 1834–72, American financial speculator, b. Pownal, Vt. In his youth he worked for a circus and as a wagon peddler of merchandise. During the Civil War he became wealthy purchasing cotton in occupied areas of the South for Northern firms and selling
..... Click the link for more information. in the Erie RR litigation in 1869 and later defended "Boss" Tweed Tweed Ring, consisting of Tweed and his henchmen—Peter Sweeny, city chamberlain; Richard B. Connolly, city comptroller; and A. Oakey Hall, mayor—controlled the city without interference.
..... Click the link for more information. . However, it was his work in behalf of law reform rather than his famous practice that established Field's legal reputation. He was responsible for the New York legislature's appointment in 1847 of one commission to reduce the laws of the state to a systematic code and another to prepare codes of court practice and procedure. Serving on the second commission, Field prepared a code of civil procedure that was adopted (1848–50). This Field code became the basis for the reform of civil law procedure throughout the United States. His reforms—notable among them abolition of the distinction between law and equity proceedings—strongly influenced the English Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875, which were subsequently adopted by many British colonies. Field's code of criminal procedure eventually became law as well. His commission for the codification of the laws of New York, however, met with failure; consequently, Field became head of a new commission for the same purpose in 1857. He prepared complete civil, political, and penal codes, but only the penal code, in 1881, became law. The civil code several times passed the legislature but was killed by gubernatorial veto.

Bibliography

See biography by his brother, H. M. Field (1898); study by F. C. Hicks (1929, repr. 1966).

Field, David Dudley (1805–94) legal scholar; born in Haddam, Conn. (brother of Cyrus West Field and Stephen Johnson Field). He was a leading legal reformer; he chaired a New York State commission that wrote a Code of Civil Procedure (1848) which was adopted by other states and countries. His Outlines of an International Code (1872) was translated into several languages.