Decius Wade - Montana Codification and Later Life

Montana Codification and Later Life

After leaving the court, Wade entered private practice in Helena as a partner in a law firm. Montana became a state on November 8, 1889, and from 1889 until 1895, Wade served as one of three Code Commissioners who were tasked with the codification of Montana law. The Commission produced four legal codes—Civil, Political, Procedure and Penal—to replace the volumes of session laws. These were reported to the Montana Legislature in 1892, though no action was taken at first due to political reasons as well as concerns of uncertainty and inconsistency inherent in codes. Wade, at that time one of the most prominent lawyers in the state, is considered to have been the most important advocate for codification. On April 5, 1894, he gave an address to the Helena Bar Association arguing for the adoption of the four codes. His speech was subsequently published as a pamphlet, Necessity for Codification. The Legislature adopted the codes the following year.

In addition to his private practice and support of codification, Wade continued to write. He contributed the chapters on law and the courts for An Illustrated History of the State of Montana by Joaquin Miller, a popular history of Montana published in 1894; Wade’s section was titled "The Bench and Bar 1880-1884." In 1895, Wade gave an address to the Montana Bar Association that was subsequently published as The Common Law.

Wade eventually returned to Ashtabula in Ohio, where he spent his last years.