William Hayes Pope

Who was William Hayes Pope?

William Hayes Pope was an American lawyer and judge. He served as the last Chief Justice of New Mexico Territory, and the first federal judge in New Mexico after it attained statehood.

Pope was born in Beaufort, South Carolina to Joseph James Pope, a lawyer, and Emily Hayes. He received a M.A. from the University of Georgia in 1889, followed by an LL.B. from its School of Law in 1890. He also taught at the University of Georgia as an adjunct professor of ancient languages from 1889 to 1890, when he was admitted to the bar. He then practiced law in Atlanta, Georgia.

He moved to Sante Fe in New Mexico Territory in 1894, apparently seeking a climate that was better for his health. He practiced law there until 1896 in the firm Victory & Pope, with senior partner John P. Victory. Their partnership was also a public one; Victory was then the territory's attorney general, and Pope served as the Assistant Attorney General from 1895 to 1897. During that period, he served as a commissioner from New Mexico to the Atlanta Exposition in 1895, and on the Capitol Rebuilding Commission from 1895 to 1900.

In March 1896, Pope was appointed by the U.S. Attorney General to serve as a special assistant U.S. Attorney in the United States Court of Private Land Claims, from which Pope resigned in June 1902. He was then appointed by the Secretary of the Interior as a special U.S. attorney to represent the interests of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico Territory, from 1901 to 1902.