William Henry Moody served as U.S. attorney general from 1904 to 1906 under President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt then appointed Moody to serve as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, a position Moody held from 1906 to 1910. However, Moody is probably best remembered for prosecuting Lizzie Borden for the ax-murder of her father and stepmother in 1892.

Moody was born on December 23, 1853 in Newbury, Massachusetts. Moody graduated from Harvard University in 1876 and then studied law in the office of a prominent Boston attorney. At this time most lawyers gained their legal education by "reading the law." This type of legal apprenticeship required Moody to perform clerical duties and legal research, all the while being tutored by an attorney. After two years he passed the Massachusetts bar exam and started a private practice in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

After serving as Haverhill's city attorney, Moody became a district attorney, charged with prosecuting...