Frederick Wilhelm Houser (April 15, 1871 – October 12, 1942) was an American attorney who served as an associate justice of the
California Supreme Court from October 1, 1937, to October 12, 1942.
Biography
Houser was born to Justus Christian Houser and Martha Rodman in
Jones County, Iowa
Jones County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census the population was 20,646. The county seat is Anamosa. The county was founded in 1837 and named after George Wallace Jones, a United States senator and member of Congres ...
.
He moved to Los Angeles to
read law
Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...
in the offices of
Stephen M. White
Stephen Mallory White (January 19, 1853February 21, 1901) was an American attorney and politician from California. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he was most notable for his service as a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from 189 ...
.
Houser continued his studies as one of the founding signatures to the
University of Southern California Law School
The USC Gould School of Law, located in Los Angeles, California, is the law school of the University of Southern California. The oldest law school in the Southwestern United States, USC Law traces its beginnings to 1896 and became affiliated with ...
, and graduated in the first class of 1900.
In November 1902, Houser was nominated by the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
and was elected an Assemblyman from the
74th district in the
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The A ...
.
In November 1906, Houser ran as a Republican and was elected as a Judge in the
Los Angeles County Superior Court
The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States.
The ...
. In 1911, the Los Angeles trial bench included future Supreme Court justices
Frank G. Finlayson,
Nathaniel P. Conrey, and
Curtis D. Wilbur
Curtis Dwight Wilbur (May 10, 1867 – September 8, 1954) was an American lawyer, California state judge, 43rd United States Secretary of the Navy and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Ear ...
. In 1912, he was re-elected to a six-year term on the trial bench. In 1916, he was presiding judge of the Superior Court. In 1918, he won another election for a new term on the Superior Court.
In 1923, he became an Associate Justice in the
California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division One. He held his seat until 1935 when he was named the Presiding Justice of that Court.
In November 1926, he ran unsuccessfully for the California Supreme Court, losing to
Jesse W. Curtis Sr.
Jesse William Curtis Sr. (July 18, 1865 – October 5, 1960) was an American attorney who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from January 1, 1926 to January 1, 1945, and whose family were pioneer settlers of San Ber ...
and
William Langdon. From 1935, Houser served as a member of the California Judicial Council.
In 1937, Governor
Frank Merriman
Frank Boyd Merriman, 1st Baron Merriman of Knutsford (28 April 1880 – 18 January 1962), known as Boyd Merriman, was a British Conservative politician and judge.
Education
Merriman was born in Knutsford, Cheshire, and educated at Winchester ...
appointed Houser an associate justice of the California Supreme Court. In November 1938, he was retained in the election.
He remained on the high court until his death on October 12, 1942.
In December 1942, Governor
Culbert Olson appointed
B. Rey Schauer
Benjamin Rey Schauer (May 9, 1891 – March 5, 1977) was an American attorney and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from December 18, 1942, to September 15, 1965.
Biography
Born in Santa Maria, California, Schauer received an B ...
to the remainder of Houser's term.
Personal life
At USC, he met his wife, Sara Isabel Wilde, who was also a founding signature for the school.
They had two children,
Frederick F. Houser
Frederick Francis Houser (November 14, 1904 – December 25, 1989) was an American politician and judge. A member of the Republican Party, he served as 34th Lieutenant Governor of California under Governor Earl Warren from 1943 to 1947.
Early ...
, who became
Lt. Governor of California
The lieutenant governor of California is the second highest executive officer of the government of the U.S. state of California. The lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms. In addition to ...
and a judge, and Rodman Wilde Houser.
See also
*
List of justices of the Supreme Court of California
Notes
External links
Frederick W. Houser California Supreme Court Historical Society.
Frederick W. Houser California Court of Appeal, Second District.
California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
Join California Frederick W. Houser
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houser, Frederick W.
1871 births
1942 deaths
People from Jones County, Iowa
Justices of the Supreme Court of California
Judges of the California Courts of Appeal
Superior court judges in the United States
USC Gould School of Law alumni
Lawyers from Los Angeles
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century American judges
Republican Party members of the California State Assembly
20th-century American legislators
20th-century California politicians