Donald L. Cunningham

Donald L. Cunningham
Donald L. Cunningham, circa 1913
Chief Justice, Arizona Supreme Court
In office January, 1918 – December, 1929
Preceded by	Alfred Franklin
Succeeded by	Henry D. Ross
Associate Justice, Arizona Supreme Court
In office February 14, 1912 – January 4, 1921
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Archibald G. McAlister
Personal details
Born	April 21, 1866 Gaylesville, Alabama
Died	March 24, 1947 Willcox, Arizona
Political party	Democrat
Residence	Tombstone, Arizona

Donald LaFayette Cunningham (April 21, 1866 – March 24, 1947) was one of the original Justices of the Supreme Court of Arizona, serving from February 14, 1912 to January 4, 1921. He served as Chief Justice from January 1918 to December 1929 and served as a member of Arizona's 1910 constitutional convention.

Cunningham was born in Gaylesville, Alabama on April 21, 1866. He graduated from Gaylesville High School and read law with John L. Burnett, a leading attorney and future member of Congress from Alabama. Cunningham was admitted to practice law in Centere, Alabama on December 23, 1887.

In January 1888, Cunningham began to practice in Ashville, Alabama and was also editor of the "St. Clair Advance," a weekly newspaper. In February, 1889, he moved to Fort Payne and in 1893 to Colorado. He spent one year in Trinidad, then proceeded to Cripple Creek at the close of the "Bull Hill War." There he started a law practice, but after a few months took up mining and stock brokerage, and operated on the stock exchange. In April, 1896, the town was mostly destroyed by a fire. Cunningham lost everything in the fire except for a single office chair; he later accepted a position as a salesman in a grocery store.

In 1897, Cunningham traveled to the Blue Mountains in Utah, where he flipped a coin to decide whether to travel to Idaho or Arizona. Arizona won, and Cunningham reached Flagstaff on August 14, 1897. There, Cunningham worked as a laborer for several months before briefly moving to Phoenix before he returned to Flagstaff, where he was employed for a time in the lumber mills and in the District Attorney's office. His later moved to Williams, where he opened a law office and was elected first City Attorney, practicing there several years. In 1904, while practicing in Tombstone, Cunningham married Louisa Leavenworth. He served as District Attorney of Cochise County, and was a Democrat County delegate to the Arizona Constitutional Convention, where he Chaired the Judiciary Committee. At the convention he worked to defeat propositions that were "designed to prevent judges from enjoining labor interests involved in disputes with employers." Cunningham, along with Albert Baker and Alfred Franklin, have been called the "fathers of article XVIII, section 5," of Arizona's Constitution, which provides that juries will determine matters of contributory negligence.