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Jefferson Never Argued Law at Court Square | Charlottesville News
A long-held myth about Thomas Jefferson practicing law at Charlottesville’s Court Square has been debunked by legal historians—Jefferson never argued cases there. While he was active in local governance and business at the courthouse, his actual legal practice took place in Williamsburg, where the General Court met. His casebooks and colonial legal rules confirm he represented clients before judges in the capital, not in the county courthouse. Jefferson even dismissed lower-court lawyers as “insects,” underscoring his disdain for local legal work. Yet, Court Square remained central to his…
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