Born and educated in New York, the majority of his career was spent in Michigan where he held a variety of state offices.
[1] He changed professions at the age of 24, becoming an attorney and began practicing in Angelica, New York, before moving to Jonesville, Michigan, in 1837.
[3] Howell began his political career in 1840 when he was appointed district attorney for Hillsdale County.
[3] Howell was admitted to practice law in front of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1849.
Among the causes he advocated were the right of married women to hold property in their own name, abolition of capital punishment, and the establishment of free public schools.
His commission as Associate Justice to the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court passed on March 10, 1863.
[6] Howell then traveled with Governor John N. Goodwin's party to new territory,[7] and took his oath of office on December 29, 1863.
[9][10] Upon his arrival in Tucson, Howell was unhappy to find "two out of every three people in the area were barefooted" in his new district.
With the assistance of his friend Coles Bashford, the judge consulted with local residents and explored the laws of several states.
Despite the fact the judge had already left the territory, his code was submitted to the legislature for consideration two days after his appointment as commissioner.
Much extrajudicial enforcement occurred in the early years of the territory, including numerous lynchings, such as the Bisbee massacre.
[18] The Howell Code was substantially reformed in 1901 when the Territorial Legislature ordered the reorganization of the laws.