David Leonard Barnes

Who was David Leonard Barnes?

David Leonard Barnes was a United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island judge and a party in the first U.S. Supreme Court decision, West v. Barnes.

Barnes was born in Scituate, Massachusetts on January 28, 1760. He graduated from Harvard College in 1780 and read law in 1783. Barnes was admitted to the bar and resided in Taunton, Massachusetts where he practiced law until 1793. Barnes married into the Jenckes family of Providence, Rhode Island and was engaged in private practice in Providence from 1793 to 1802. Eventually, Barnes won the case of West v. Barnes representing himself and his wife's family after being admitted to the Supreme Court bar that morning. Barnes was appointed a U.S. attorney and later appointed judge of U.S. District Court for Rhode Island receiving a recess appointment from Thomas Jefferson on April 30, 1801, to a seat vacated by Benjamin Bourne. Jefferson formally nominated Barnes on January 6, 1802. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1802, and received his commission the same day. Barnes served from 1801 to 1812 dying in office on November 3, 1812 in Providence.