Joe Kirby

Joe Kirby (October 5, 1863 - February 8, 1926) was a self-educated son of Irish immigrants who became an important figure in South Dakota history. He helped shape South Dakota law in its formative years, started one of the preeminent law offices in the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries where numerous future lawyers and judges got their start, founded Western Surety Company and participated in the creation of several other businesses.

Joe Kirby was born to Irish immigrants Patrick and Mary Ryan Kirby on October 5, 1863 in Lawler, Iowa. He attended the early grades of school locally, but there was no high school available in the area. He and some acquaintances used the local grade school facilities to educate themselves during evenings. After finishing his high school education, he worked on his father's farm, taught district school, and studied law a little in New Hampton, Iowa. At that time, neither law school nor even college were required in order to practice law; the only requirement was the test, which he took and passed.

Kirby quickly established himself as a lawyer. He moved from Chickasaw County, Iowa to Sioux Falls in the Dakota Territory, arriving on June 28, 1886. He worked on farms along the way for a meal and a bed. He was admitted to practice in the Dakota Territory on November 12, 1886. He hoped to work at the Bailey and Davis law firm but couldn't get in, so he went to work for a farmer near Montrose for the summer. In the fall he joined the firm. Two years later, in 1888, he opened his own firm on the northwest corner at 9th and Phillips in downtown Sioux Falls.

The 6'3" Kirby had a reputation as a hard working advocate. According to an 1899 historian, "there is not a more untiring, indefatigable and persistent (right or wrong) lawyer in the city of Sioux Falls." His son, Dan, recalled that, "he was a studious person." With extensive experience handling appeals, he was often brought in by area attorneys to take cases to higher courts. He appeared in front of the state's Supreme Court countless times, and the U.S. Supreme Court at least six times, which is something few attorneys experience. In the Baltzer case, Kirby was the first attorney to present arguments to the US Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Espionage Act of 1917. The importance of that case in the development of First Amendment legal theory in the United States has only recently been discovered by legal scholars.

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