Ramsey County Law Library Blog

The Honorable Hascal Russel Brill served as a Second Judicial District Judge from 1875 until his death in 1922.   Judge Brill was elected as a probate judge in 1872, at the age of 26.   Three years later he was appointed judge in the Court of Common Pleas.   In 1876, the Court of Common Pleas was merged with the Second District Court, and Judge Brill became the first person to occupy the second seat (Orlando Simons, also of the Court of Common Pleas, was appointed to the third seat).

Born in Quebec, Canada in 1846,  Brill moved to Kenyon, Minnesota as an adolescent with his family of farmers.  He later attended both Hamline University at Red Wing and the University of Michigan.  He worked as a school teacher for a year before working in the office of the first Second Judicial District Judge, Judge E.C. Palmer.

In 1973, Judge Brill married Cora A. Gray at Niagara Falls.  They later had six children.  One of those children, Kenneth Gray Brill, followed in his father’s footsteps and became a Second Judicial District Judge.

The Law Library has on display judicial portraits of past Second Judicial District Court judges, going back to 1857. If you have any information or commentary about Judge Palmer, please leave a response or send us an e-mail.  To view the portraits in person, visit us on the 18th floor of the Ramsey County Courthouse.

The Honorable John Willey Willis was elected to the Second District Court in 1892, succeeding the Honorable W.D. Cornish. 

Born in Saint Paul, Judge Willis attended Macalester College and received his AB from the University of Minnesota before completing an MA at Dartmouth.  In 1914, fifteen years after leaving the bench, Judge Willis received a PhD from Saint Johns University.

Judge Willis taught Latin and Greek at Saint Paul Central High School in 1878 and was President of Metro Council of Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. 

Judge Willish died September 12, 1925 in Washington D.C. while attending a convention for National Catholic Charities.

The Law Library has on display judicial portraits of past Second Judicial District Court judges, going back to 1857. If you have any information or commentary about Judge Wilkin, please leave a response or send us an e-mail.  To view the portraits in person, visit us on the 18th floor of the Ramsey County Courthouse.

The Honorable Wescott Wilkin was elected as the second, and sole, District Court Judge in 1864.  Originally from the East Coast, Judge Wilkin studied the classics at Princeton and graduated from Yale Law School before entering private practice and serving as a Judge in Sullivan County, New York.

Judge Wilkin moved his practice to Minnesota in 1856.  His imprint can still be felt in Minnesota, as he appointed the commission that purchased land in Saint Paul that eventually became Como Park. 

A world traveler, Judge Wilkin embarked on a world tour accompanied by Judge Flandreau that took him to Europe, Egypt, India, China, and Japan. 

Wilkin County is named after his brother, Colonel Alexander Wilkin.

The Law Library has on display judicial portraits of past Second Judicial District Court judges, going back to 1857. If you have any information or commentary about Judge Wilkin, please leave a response or send us an e-mail.  To view the portraits in person, visit us on the 18th floor of the Ramsey County Courthouse.

The Honorable E.C Palmer was the elected State Judge of the District Court at the first Minnesota state elections in 1857.  He remained the sole District Court judge until he was succeeded by Wescott Wilkin in 1864.  Prior to his election, Judge Palmer practiced as an attorney for the Sioux City Railroad and First National Bank, and in 1854 founded a law firm just ten years after Masterson and Simons founded the first firm in Minnesota.

Judge Palmer also served on Saint Paul’s first Board of Education in 1856, when the board organized Saint Paul’s first three schoolhouses, Washington, Adams and Jefferson.  Amid much controversy, the board spent nearly $24,000 to construct schools that offered more capacity than the city “would ever need.”

During Judge Palmer’s term as District Court Judge, he presided over a number of controversial cases, including the hanging of Ann Bilansky, the first woman executed in Minnesota.  This case brought capital punishment to the forefront in Minnesota, and ended with Governor Ramsey vetoing a bill to end capital punishment in Minnesota.

A noteworthy chess player, Judge Palmer would play concurrent games against multiple opponents to show his skill.

The Law Library has on display judicial portraits of past Second Judicial District Court judges, going back to 1857. If you have any information or commentary about Judge Palmer, please leave a response or send us an e-mail.  To view the portraits in person, visit us on the 18th floor of the Ramsey County Courthouse.