Albert C. Baker

Albert Cornelius Baker (February 15, 1845 – August 31, 1921) was an American jurist and politician who was the only person to serve on both the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court and the Arizona Supreme Court. As a judge he served four years as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Arizona Territory and two-and-a-half years as a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. Politically he was a member of the Arizona Territorial Legislature and a delegate to Arizona's constitutional convention. Background Baker was born on February 15, 1845, in Girard, Alabama, to Benjamin H. and Eliza (Greer) Baker. His father was a prominent attorney and he was educated in private schools. During the American Civil War he joined the Confederate States Army and served two-and-a-half years as color bearer for Waddell's Battalion of Artillery. While in the battalion, Baker saw action during the Siege of Vicksburg and during the Atlanta Campaign from the Battle of Rocky Face Ridge to the Battle of Atlanta. Following Atlanta he spent a short time as a prisoner of war. Following the war, Baker became a graduate of East Alabama Male College (now Auburn University). After completing school he studied law at a law office and was admitted to the bar in 1868. Baker opened his own law office in Crawford, Alabama and practiced there for three years before moving to Missouri. From Missouri he moved to San Diego, California and in 1876 arrived in Los Angeles. In February 1879, his legal practice brought Baker to Phoenix, Arizona Territory. As he was concluding his business and preparing to return, Justice DeForest Porter requested Baker serve as special prosecutor for a Maricopa County attorney accused of malfeasance in office. After accepting and completing the assignment he began accepting additional cases and never made his planned return to California, instead making Phoenix his home for the rest of his life.