Walter B. Scates

Walter Bennett Scates (January 18, 1808 – October 26, 1886) was an American lawyer and jurist.

Born in South Boston, Virginia, Scates moved with his parents to a farm near Hopkinsville, Kentucky and then learned the printer's trade in Nashville, Tennessee.

Scates served as county surveyor and state's attorney pro temp.

From 1852 until 1857, Scates again served in the Illinois Supreme Court and was chief justice in 1855.

During the American Civil War, Scates served as a staff officer in the Union Army.