[2] In August, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Locke to a seat on the Territorial Supreme Court of Nevada vacated by the resignation of Justice Horatio M. Jones.
The appointment was understood to be temporary, with Locke taking the oath of office in October 1963, and receiving his commission in January 1864.
[1][2][3] As a judge, Locke rode circuit around a district comprising the counties of Storey, Washoe, and Roop.
[1] According to one account, "Locke drifted from parties and conferences with the representatives of one company to dinners and meetings with the minions of the other.
"[4] Accused of corruption, Locke and his fellow justices resigned from the court in August 1864.