David Davis, Abraham Lincoln's Favorite Judge

by Raymond J. McKoski

One of Abraham Lincoln’s staunchest and most effective allies, Judge David Davis masterminded the floor fight that gave Lincoln the presidential nomination at the 1860 Republican National Convention. This history-changing event emerged from a long friendship between the two men. It also altered the course of Davis’s career, as Lincoln named him to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1862.

Raymond J. McKoski offers a biography of Davis’s public life, his impact on the presidency and judiciary, and his personal, professional, and political relationships with Lincoln. Davis lent his vast network of connections, organizational and leadership abilities, and personal persuasiveness to help Lincoln’s political rise. When Davis became a judge, he honed an ability to hear each case with complete impartiality, a practice that endeared him to Lincoln but one day put him at odds with the president over important Civil War–era rulings. McKoski details these cases while providing an in-depth account of Davis’s role in Lincoln’s two unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Senate and the fateful run for the presidency.

352 pages, Hardcover

Published July 22, 2025

About the author

Judge Raymond J. McKoski (retired) developed his expertise in judicial ethics by wearing several hats. As a trial court judge for 25 years, he faced ethical issues first hand. As the author of 10 law review articles on judicial ethics, he has analyzed the rules governing members of the judiciary from both a theoretical and practical perspective. His publications have been cited by courts and scholars in the United States, England, Canada, and New Zealand. Since 1987, Judge McKoski has regularly lectured on issues facing judges in and out of the courtroom at local, state, national, and international conferences and law school symposia. In his role as Vice-Chair of the Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee, he assists judges in applying judicial conduct codes to their personal and professional lives. For his work in judicial ethics, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois Judges Association.

Ray also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at The John Marshall Law School, on the editorial board of the British Journal of American Legal Studies, and as a member of ethics advisory committees of the American Bar Association and the National Center for State Courts. As a lawyer, he argued cases at every level of state and federal court including the United States Supreme Court. He graduated summa cum laude from DePaul University College of Law.