Davis was nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes on December 12, 1877, to a seat on the Court of Claims (later the United States Court of Claims) vacated by Judge Edward G. Loring.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 14, 1877, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on December 9, 1881, due to his resignation to again accept the post of United States Assistant Secretary of State from 1881 to 1882.[1]
Davis was nominated by President Chester A. Arthur on December 13, 1882, to the seat on the Court of Claims vacated by himself.[1] He was confirmed by the Senate on December 20, 1882, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on November 5, 1883, due to his resignation.[1]
Acting as court reporter in Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, 118 U.S. 394 (1886), dealing with taxation of railroad properties, Davis plays a historical role in the corporate personhood debate.[4] The position of court reporter entailed that he write "a summary-of-the-case commentary." Why Bancroft Davis's role in the controversy is worth mentioning is that he noted in the headnote to the court's opinion that the Chief Justice Morrison Waite began oral argument by stating, "The court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, applies to these corporations. We are all of the opinion that it does."[5]
In a published account of Bancroft's collected Supreme Court reports and notes from 1885 to 1886,[6] he wrote of the Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad case that, "The defendant Corporations are persons within the intent of the clause in section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."[7]
Journalists and authors such as Thom Hartman have since cited Davis's prior position as president of Newburgh and New York Railway as evidence of a conflict of interest in the corporate personhood interpretation of a Supreme Court ruling dealing with a railroad.[8] The controversy regarding Bancroft Davis's summary remains unsolved.[9]
Death
Davis died on December 27, 1907, at his residence, 1621 H Street NW, in Washington, DC[2][10]
^118 U.S. 394 (1886) - Official court Syllabus in the United States Reports
^Davis, J.C. Bancroft (1886). Vol. 118 of United States Reports: Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court at October Term 1885 and October Term 1886. New York City: Banks & Brothers Publishers.
The United States Court of Claims : a history / pt. 1. The judges, 1855–1976 / by Marion T. Bennett / pt. 2. Origin, development, jurisdiction, 1855–1978 / W. Cowen, P. Nichols, M.T. Bennett. Washington, D.C. : Committee on the Bicentennial of Independence and the Constitution of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 1976 i.e. 1977–1978. 2 vols.
