Alexander H. Handy (1809-1871)
MSA SC 3520-13499
Biography:
"Judge Handy was a native of Maryland, born there in Somerset County on Christmas Day, 1809. He was already trained in the law upon moving to the booming Mississippi frontier in 1836.
In 1853 Handy was chosen to the High Court of Errors and Appeals, defeating William Yerger who had incurred some unpopularity for his decision upholding the validity of the Union Bank bonds (Mississippi vs. Johnson, 25 Miss, 325) only the year before. He served continuously on the high court until his 1867 resignation in a protest of the usurpation of the judicial power by the Union authorities. Handy was elevated tot he position of chief justice in 1864. He was always an ardent states righter and secessionist. During the war he was a fiery advocate of the South's cause. As late as March 1, 1865, in a speech at Canton Judge Handy declared that the Confederacy must fight on to independence or death.
Undoubtedly it was just that fiery unyielding resoluteness which led to Handy's most famous decision in 1866 and his resignation from the high court in 1867. In 1866 Judge Handy struck down as unconstitutional a civil rights act passed by Congress, saying in effect that the thirteenth amendment freed the slaves but did not give Congress the right to determine the Negroes' future status. When the military authorities ignored his decision, and moreover, continued to try some civilians in military courts, Handy, with his two colleagues William L. Harris and Henry T. Ellett resigned.
With his resignation Judge Handy left Mississippi and returned to his native Maryland. There he was appointed professor of law at the University of Maryland. In 1871 shortly before his death the old secessionist returned to Mississippi to take up his law practice at Canton. He died there before the end of the year."
Other Biographical Sources:
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