[3] He studied law with James T. Brown and gained admission to the bar in 1841.
In 1844 he moved to Rising Sun, Indiana, which he maintained as his home for the rest of his life.
[1][2][4] At one point in 1871 Downey was briefly discussed as a possible vice presidential candidate for prospective presidential candidate John T. Hoffman, then Governor of New York, who sought "a prominent Western man" to balance the ticket and counter the candidacy of Indiana senator Thomas A.
[5] Downey declined renomination to the court in 1877 and returned to active practice.
[1] Downey died at his home in Rising Sun, from apoplexy, at the age 80.