Frank Wynerth Summers (September 5, 1914 – January 26, 1993) was an associate justice of the

Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (french: Cour suprême de Louisiane) is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orlea ...

from December 12, 1960, to December 31, 1978, and chief justice from January 1, 1979, to February 29, 1980.

Early life, education, and military service

Born in

Abbeville, Louisiana Abbeville is a city in, and the parish seat of, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States, west of New Orleans and southwest of Baton Rouge. The population was 12,257 at the 2010 census. At the 2020 population estimates program, the populati ...

to Clay Ralph Summers and Esther LeBlanc,"Former chief justice of state Supreme Court dies Tuesday", ''Abbeville Meridional'' (January 27, 1993), p. 1, 5. Summers attended the Abbeville public schools and received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from Southwestern Louisiana Institute in 1936, where he lettered in football and track. He received an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from

Tulane University Law School Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States. In addition to the usual common ...

in 1938 and entered the practice of law in Abbeville. A naval reservist, Summers was called to active duty to serve in the

Pacific theatre of World War II The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, first with the Office of Naval Intelligence, and then commanding the amphibious tank-landing ship USS ''LST-871''. His command lasted from January 15, 1945 to October 20, 1945, and Summers achieved the rank of lieutenant commander before the end of his service in November 1945. Summers thereafter returned to the practice of law.

Political activities and judicial service

Summers became increasingly active in politics, managing the successful gubernatorial campaign of Robert F. Kennon in 1952, and the failed bid of

DeLesseps Story Morrison deLesseps Story Morrison Sr., also known as Chep Morrison (January 18, 1912 – May 22, 1964), was an American attorney and politician who was the 54th mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 1946 to 1961. He then served as an appointee of U.S. ...

in 1960, and supporting the presidential campaign of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. From August 1952 to 1955, Summers was a judge of the Louisiana Fifteenth Judicial District Court, thereafter returning to private practice until 1960, when he ran for a seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court. In October 1960, he was elected to that seat, becoming chief justice January 1, 1979. As chief justice, he "was instrumental in transferring the Criminal Appellate Court Jurisdiction from the Supreme Court to the Appellate Court". He resigned to focus on the management of his family farm and cattle ranch.

Personal life

In June 1940, Summers married Beverly Miller, with whom he had six children. He died in his home, in Abbeville, at the age of 78.

References

1914 births 1993 deaths People from Abbeville, Louisiana University of Louisiana at Lafayette alumni Tulane University Law School alumni Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court 20th-century American judges {{Louisiana-state-judge-stub