Judge George Rountree
He* .served u ith distinction on the bench, but
it was in the practice of law that he made
a record which was outstanding in many
respects.
О
UK STATE ha* produ<*d
many famous lawyer* and ju¬
rists, ami during my forty
years at the bar it was my high privi¬
lege to know intimately and to prac¬
tice before the two most unique jurists
who have graced our nisi prius bench
- Charles M. < 'ooke and George Roun-
treo, who are in a class by themselves.
Innumerable stories have liecn relat¬
ed of .ludge Cooke, but not so many
concerning bis colleagues, ns his serv¬
ice upon the bench was of much short¬
er duration than that of the veteran
( 'ooke.
My subject was a native of Kinston,
hut his life and fame are associated
entirely with New Hanover, the bar of
which he was the outstanding head for
many years and of which, at the
time of his death, he was the venerable
and beloved dean. During his life,
when the bar of Wilmington was
mentioned, you thought of Kountree
just as instinctively as you now think
of President Roosevelt when the na¬
tional capital is referred to.
Wilmington has been the residence
of many lawyers who have risen to
eminence in their profession, but none
left a deeper impress on the life of
their generation than did George
Rountree.
A Real Scholar
He had such a scholarly mind and
studious disposition that lie had one
of the largest law libraries in the
stnte, and lie was almost alone in jkis-
searing a full set of the Reports of the
higher English courts. He was a pro¬
found admirer of the English jurists,
and he bail something of contempt for
n decision which did not cite among its
precedents some decision from the
Lord Chancellor in the House of
Lords; or some decision of the court
of the Exchequer Chamber or the
Queen’s Bench ; and 1 never rend one
of his many excellent briefs which did
not contain citations of the English
authorities. Of the Carolina Chief
Justices, he most admired Thomas
Ruffin, not only because he was by far
the ablest of those who have graced
his high office, but because Ruffin
held the distinction of lieing the only
Carolina juri-t whose opinions had
By R. C. LAWRENCE
been quoted by the English courts at
Westminster Hall. When on the bench,
if a young lawyer wished to win his
ease, let him cite some apposite Eng¬
lish authority ! For the Judge believed,
with Blackstone: “The common law
of England is the perfection of rea¬
son.”
Ater taking hi* academic and legal
degrees he settled at Wilmington, and
such was the calibre of his legal equip¬
ment; so Splendid were hi- gifts of
leadership ; such was his character and
high ideals that he was soon called into
the service of the state, where the turn
of the century found him a member
of the House of Representatives.
Here he immediately assumed a |K»ri-
tion of leadership, and when the Dem¬
ocratic majority determined upon the
presentation of articles of impeach¬
ment against two members ‘of the Su¬
preme Court, lie was named as chair¬
man of the Board of Managers to
formulate the articles and present
them at the bar of the Senate; and
all through the administration of the
brilliant ami beloved Ayeoek, lie was
one of those who stood closest to the
executive ami was most frequently
consulted by him.
It was while serving in the legisla¬
ture that he met the young "Gentle¬
man from Duplin,*' James (). Carr,
and he was so impressed by his at¬
tainments that he tendered him a part¬
nership. For forty years, off and on,
this continued, and the firm of Roun¬
tree and Carr became ns well known
in legal Carolina ns Sullivan and
Cromwell or Samuel Untermeyer in
New York City. This firm had an
extensive practice throughout Capo
Fear, usually appearing on what
Judge Cooke always called the "South
side of the docket,” i.e., for the de¬
fendant. For, ns the outstanding firm
of Wilmington, it usually represented
the railroads, banks, insurance com¬
panies, exporting companies, lumber
companies and other largo corpora¬
tions; ami so extensive became its
practice that there was scarce a case
of any importance in eastern Carolina
with which their name was not asso¬
ciated.
Appointed to the Bench
Hi* distinction as a lawyer reused
his appointment to the bench of the
Superior Court, on which ho served
with distinction and on which lie
would have
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continued by the
suffrage of the |ieople had he eared
to remain upon the bench. I do not
think he was happy iu Ilia judicial
position. His mind was so richly
stored and so splendidly furnished that
he had but little patience with medi¬
ocrity; and he moreover |*ossessod a
tart disposition and somewhat ex¬
plosive temperament, which at times
unloosed itself in the presence of
crass ignorance. A profound lawyer
himself, he assumed that others should
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the same knowledge, and while
he In -came known as a Solomon for
learning he was not distinguished for
the patience of Job! He was so accus¬
tomed to the outspoken expression of
hi* opinions that it was with great
difficulty that he complied with the
rule which prevents the presiding
Judge from expressing any opinion
on the facts in the presence of the
jury a right which is possessed bv
Federal Judges, although not often
exercised. A pompous lawyer from an¬
other state undertook to consume much
time iu the argument of an elemen¬
tary motion. The .Fudge heard him
hut with marked impatience, and when
lie finally concluded Rountree said:
“You will find my decision in the
Bilile, hook, chapter and verse so-
and-so." Hastily procuring a copy of
the Scriptures from the Clerk the law¬
yer looked up the reference and found :
"1 WILL NOT BE MOVED.” But
iu the privacy of his hotel the Judge
would tell any young practitioner
what course to take iu any given mat¬
ter not on trial before him, and would
hearten and encourage him in hi* legal
aspirations.
Resumed Law Practice
Me was better satisfied at the liar
than upon the bench, and he resigned
(Continued on page twenty-four )
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