William B. Mitchell

William B. Mitchell
William Mitchell, c. 1890s
Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
In office 1881–1900
Appointed by	John S. Pillsbury
Preceded by	None (new seat)
Succeeded by	Calvin L. Brown
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for the 11th Legislative District
In office December 7, 1859 – January 7, 1861
Personal details
Born	November 19, 1832 Stamford, Ontario
Died	August 21, 1900 Minnesota
Nationality	American Canadian
Children	William D. Mitchell

William Mitchell (November 19, 1832 – August 21, 1900) was a lawyer and judge notable for his work in Minnesota as a member of the 3rd Minnesota District Court and Minnesota Supreme Court. He was also the first dean of the St. Paul College of Law, later renamed in his honor as the William Mitchell College of Law.

Mitchell was born in Stamford, Ontario in 1832. His parents John Mitchell and Mary Henderson were both Scottish immigrants. He attended Jefferson College in Pennsylvania and while there he befriended Eugene McLanahan Wilson. After graduating in 1853, he became a school teacher in Morgantown, West Virginia and began to read law under his friend's father Edgar C. Wilson. He was admitted to the bar in 1857.

Mitchell relocated to Winona, Minnesota with Eugene McLanahan Wilson shortly after passing the bar. He began to practice law there and partnered at various points with Wilson, Daniel Sheldon Norton, William H. Yale, Thomas Wilson and William Windom. In 1859 he was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives for one term. He also served one term as attorney for Winona County, Minnesota.

In 1874, Mitchell was elected to the 3rd Minnesota District Court. In 1877, Mitchell was called upon to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court pro hac vice to hear a case where two of the sitting justices were involved as counsel. He was re-elected to a second term as district court judge in 1880 and was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court as an associate justice by Governor John S. Pillsbury in 1881 after the court was expanded from three members to five. Mitchell won bipartisan support from both the Republican and Democratic parties in 1886 and 1892. In 1898, Mitchell gained the nomination of the Democratic party but not the Republican party and was defeated.