# Oscar Hallam *American lawyer, judge and academic from Minnesota (1865–1945)* Oscar Hallam (October 19, 1865 – September 23, 1945) was a lawyer, judge and legal educator in [[Minnesota]].[^1] He sat on the state's Second District Court bench from 1905 to 1912. He then served on the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] from 1912 until 1924.[^1] His connection to William Mitchell College of Law began in 1901, when he joined the faculty, and lasted until 1945. He was dean from 1919 to 1941 and held the title of president until 1945.[^1] Outside the courts, he sought the 1924 United States Senate nomination in the state primary and chaired the Minnesota Crime Commission in 1926. He also led bar, charitable and wartime bodies.[^1] The dates and offices in this article rest on a single secondary encyclopedia account. No primary court record, session law or official register is cited for them.[^1] ## Early life and education Hallam was born on a farm in the town of Linden, in Iowa County, Wisconsin.[^1] The University of Wisconsin awarded him two degrees, a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws. The source dates both degrees to 1887.[^1] ## Judicial service Hallam's judicial career began on the Minnesota state Second District Court, where he sat from 1905 until 1912. In 1912 he became a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court and remained on that court until 1924.[^1] According to an image caption in the source, volume 220 of *Minnesota Reports* carries a memorial to him as associate justice.[^1] ## Legal education and William Mitchell College of Law Hallam taught at William Mitchell College of Law from 1901 to 1945. He led the school as dean between 1919 and 1941 and was its president until 1945.[^1] ## Public and professional activity Hallam ran in Minnesota's 1924 state primary for the office of United States Senator.[^1] In the American Bar Association he chaired the Section on Criminal Law.[^1] In 1926 he was chairman of the Minnesota Crime Commission. The source credits him with originating the Minnesota State Department of Criminal Apprehension and with establishing the full-time Minnesota Board of Parole.[^1] He held several other posts: - president of the Ramsey County Bar Association; - chairman of the Board of Governors of the Twin City Unit of the Shriners Hospital for Children; - chairman of the 4-Minute Men of Minnesota during World War I.[^1] ## Family Hallam and Edith Lamb Lott (1870 – July 17, 1942) married in St. Paul in 1892.[^1] Their daughter, Cornelia Hallam Miller (April 16, 1893 – February 20, 1975), was president of the St. Paul Women City Club and a writer for the *St. Paul Pioneer Press*.[^1] In 1933 Hallam sent a grandson, Stanley F. Miller, Jr. (October 3, 1916 – September 21, 1991), to the World Jamboree at Gödöllő, Hungary. Miller represented Minnesota in the Boy Scouts of America contingent.[^1] ## Writings Late in life, Hallam wrote stories of his boyhood on a Midwest farm in the 1870s. He gathered them into a manuscript he titled *Bloomfield and Number Five*.[^1] In 1946 his daughter gave the original manuscript to the [[Minnesota Historical Society]].[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Oscar Hallam, lawyer, judge and academic in Minnesota.[^1] ### What - Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, 1912–1924.[^1] - Judge of the Minnesota state Second District Court, 1905–1912.[^1] - Dean of William Mitchell College of Law, 1919–1941.[^1] - Chairman of the Minnesota Crime Commission, 1926.[^1] ### When - Born October 19, 1865; died September 23, 1945.[^1] - Candidate in the 1924 Minnesota state primary for United States Senator.[^1] ### Where - Born in the town of Linden, Iowa County, Wisconsin.[^1] - Of St. Paul; president of the Ramsey County Bar Association.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Oscar Hallam* (cached revision 1314913963, retrieved 2026-10-26) — biographical account of Hallam's birth, education, district and supreme court service, William Mitchell faculty, deanship and presidency, 1924 Senate primary candidacy, Crime Commission and bar activities, family, manuscript, and the caption identifying his memorial in volume 220 of *Minnesota Reports*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Hallam