Andrew Wylie (judge)


Andrew Wylie was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.

Education and career

Born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Wylie was the eldest son of Andrew Wylie first President of Indiana University. Wylie attended Transylvania University and Indiana University Bloomington, graduating from the latter in 1832. He studied law with Walter Forward, and was admitted to the bar in 1837. He practiced in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1837 to 1848, serving at some point on the Pittsburgh City Council and acting in 1845 as Pittsburgh city attorney. In 1848, he moved his practice to Alexandria, Virginia, until about 1861, and thereafter to Washington, D.C., until 1863.

Federal judicial service

Wylie was nominated by President Lincoln to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia on March 10, 1863, and was confirmed by the Senate on March 12, 1863. The Senate voted to reconsider the confirmation on March 13, 1863, with no subsequent Senate vote. His nomination expired on March 14, 1863, with the sine die adjournment of the special session of the 38th United States Congress.
Wylie received a recess appointment from President Abraham Lincoln on March 18, 1863, to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, to a new Associate Justice seat authorized by 12 Stat. 762. He was nominated to the same position by President Lincoln on January 5, 1864. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 20, 1864, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on May 1, 1885, due to his retirement.

Later career and death

Following his retirement from the federal bench, Wylie resumed private practice in Washington, D.C., from 1885 to 1905. He died on August 1, 1905, in Washington, D.C.