Born in Strongsville, Ohio, Sabin attended Western Reserve College (now Case Western Reserve University) and read law to enter the bar, beginning a private practice in Madison, Wisconsin in 1858.
In 1863, he was commissioned as a judge advocate for the military district of Vicksburg, serving there until the resumption of civilian courts in 1866.
[3][1] On July 20, 1882, Sabin was nominated by President Chester A. Arthur to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Nevada vacated by Judge Edgar Winters Hillyer.
Sabin was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 26, 1882, and received his commission the same day.
He served in that capacity until his death of inflammatory rheumatism on May 12, 1890, in San Francisco, California.