Edward C. Burks

Who was Edward C. Burks?

Edward Calohill Burks was an American jurist.

Burks was born in Bedford County, Virginia, the son of Martin Parks Burks, a successful farmer, and Louise Claiborne Spinner. He attended several schools when he was a boy, among them, the New London Academy. Later, in 1839, he entered Washington College and graduated in June 1841 with the highest honors of his class. In 1842, he graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia School of Law. After graduation, he entered private practice in Bedford and adjacent counties.

In December 1876, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals and remained there for six years until 1882 when the Readjuster Party came into power. In 1884, after returning to private practice, he was chosen by the Legislature as one of the revisors of the Code of Virginia of 1887, which he completed with Waller Redd Staples and John W. Riely, both of whom also served as Justices on the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. He was also a member of the House of Delegates in 1861-62 and part of 1863. In 1891, Burks was President of the Virginia State Bar Association and, with Professor Charles A. Graves of Washington and Lee and Professor William M.