Clay V. Spear (January 10, 1913 – May 15, 1974)"Ex-Supreme Court Justice In Idaho Takes Own Life?", ''The Ogden Standard-Examiner'' (May 17, 1974), p. 8. was an American attorney, judge, and justice of the

Idaho Supreme Court The Idaho Supreme Court is the state supreme court of Idaho and is composed of the chief justice and four associate justices. The decisions of the Idaho Supreme Court are binding on all other Idaho state courts. The only court that may reverse ...

from 1965 to 1971.

Early life, education, and military service

Born in

Anaconda, Montana Anaconda, county seat of Deer Lodge County, which has a consolidated city-county government, is located in southwestern Montana, United States. Located at the foot of the Anaconda Range (known locally as the "Pintlers"), the Continental Divid ...

, Spear graduated from the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, and received his J.D. from its

College of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

in 1936. He served in the

European theatre of World War II The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Nazi Germany, Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 Sept ...

, where he "received four battle stars and a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

medal for service in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

"."Lawyer Chosen Head of V.F.W.", ''The Spokesman-Review'' (October 13, 1946), p. 12. In 1946, he was named head of the

VFW The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as United States Armed Forces, military service members fought in wars, Military campaign, campaigns, ...

of Coeur d'Alene.

Judicial career

Spear was appointed as a district judge in 1953, and elevated to the state supreme court by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Robert Smylie in 1965, taking office on January 2, 1966."Judgeship Rites Set for Monday", ''Idaho Free Press'' (December 31, 1965), p. 3. A resident of Coeur d'Alene at the time, he was the only member of the court from

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

Idaho."Boise Attorney Robert Bakes To Take Supreme Court Seat", ''Idaho State Journal'' (December 23, 1971), p. 2. Spear retired from the court in December 1971 due to poor health, relocated to Lewiston in 1972, and opened a part-time law practice.

Death

Spear "was found dead of a

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

wound at his home", in an apparent

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

at age 61.

References

People from Anaconda, Montana University of Idaho alumni University of Idaho College of Law alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court Suicides by firearm in Idaho 1910s births 1974 deaths Year of birth uncertain {{Idaho-state-judge-stub