Search the Encyclopedia Mavericana:   ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Bixby, Richard

Judge in Echo Springs,[1] Utah Territory[2] in 1870. (April 14, 1827 – November 6, 1901)[2]

As an attorney and associate of Phineas King, Richard Bixby commanded power and respect in Echo Springs. His knowledge of the law and power of the bench provided him with legal, although sometimes unethical, means to increase King’s personal and business fortunes. As a confidante of King’s, Bixby enjoyed power and prestige in Echo Springs.[1]

In 1870, Bixby ran against Elbert Connors in a mining district election. As the incumbent and his association with King, it was assumed he would easily be re-elected. However, as the votes were tallied, a former judge, Joshua Thayer, not even on the ballot, won by a landslide.[1]

Shortly after the 1870 election, Bixby represented King’s Silver Lady Mine in a case against the New Hope Mining Company in Judge Thayer’s court. The defense had invoked the Apex Law, which Bixby argued was an outdated law, the principle of which had been disproved by mining authorities. However, he lost the case due to the Apex Law having never been repealed. Bixby traveled to the territorial seat in Salt Lake City to appeal the case to a higher court and was able to have the ruling reversed.[1]

See: War of the Silver Kings