Harold Alexander Moise, Sr. (August 23, 1879 – September 16, 1958), was from 1948 until his death a 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 ...

, based in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Background

Born in Natchitoches, Louisiana, Moise was the third son of Judge James Campbell Moise and Aline Sompayrac Moise.Harold Moïse, ''The Moise Family of South Carolina'' (1961), pp. 35-37. He graduated in 1899 from the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Christian Brothers College, and in 1902 from the

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 New Orleans, at which he was president of his class and was selected as the

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is tradi ...

. Moise was married to Io Leigh Bres from January 1903 until her death in 1927; the couple had three daughters and two sons, including Harold Moise, Jr., who served as the clerk of the state Supreme Court from 1969 to 1978. In 1930, Moise married Amelia Keyes O'Neal Harris.

Career

Moise then commenced the

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...

until 1908, when he was elected to a single four-year term to represent the

12th Ward of New Orleans The 12th Ward or Twelfth Ward is a division of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. The Ward was formerly part of the old Jefferson City annexed by New Orleans in 1870. Boundaries The roughly wedge-shaped Ward ...

in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...

. He was assistant attorney for the Orleans Levee Board from 1912 to 1916, and served as general counsel of the board of commissioners of the Port of New Orleans from 1920 to 1936.Louisiana Supreme Court Justices, 1813-Present
, ''Celebrating 200 Years: The Bicentennial of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 1813-2013''. In 1920, he was also a leading member of the successful campaign to elect

John M. Parker John Milliken Parker, Sr. (March 16, 1863 – May 20, 1939), was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Louisiana, who served as the state's List of Governors of Louisiana, 37th Governor from 1920 to 1924. ...

governor of Louisiana 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 ...

. He was a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1921. In 1937, Moise was elected to Division C of the Civil District Court of Louisiana in New Orleans. He became the presiding judge of that court in 1947. One of his final cases on the civil court was an effort by a

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...

company to prevent the city of New Orleans from seizing and destroying certain "mint vending bell machines." Moise was set to hear the case in 1948, but it was reassigned because he advanced to the Supreme Court.''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' (June 5, 1948), p. 127. Governor Huey Long had intended to call a special election to fill the vacancy created on that court by the death of

Nathaniel W. Bond Nathaniel W. "Nat" Bond (October 14, 1892 – February 18, 1948) was a justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from June 2, 1947, to February 18, 1948. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Bond graduated from Tulane University Law School in 1913, and se ...

, but after all three of the Democratic organizations of that district endorsed Moise, Long called off the election and appointed Moise directly. In 1952, Moise ran unopposed for election to a full 14-year term on the court, serving thereafter until his death, in New Orleans. He was succeeded on the court by Walter B. Hamlin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moise, Harold A. 1879 births 1958 deaths Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court Tulane University Law School alumni Politicians from Natchitoches, Louisiana Politicians from New Orleans Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Catholics from Louisiana