 In 1856, he was elected to Ohio Supreme Court, where he served as Chief Justice from 1859 until 1871, being succeeded by Josiah Scott.He dissented in the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue case of 1858, a test of the Fugitive Slave Law, arguing that slavery was solely a state institution, that should enjoy no protection at the federal level.He became affiliated with the Republican Party on its formation in 1856, and was an alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio in 1868.