Isadore Edward Levine (March 25, 1897 – April 5, 1963), born in

Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined sta ...

, was a justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...

from January 13, 1955, to May 23, 1955. Levine's parents were Morris and Dora Levine, Eastern European Jewish immigrants,Donald B. Kite Sr., "Isadore E. Levine", in Linda C. Gugin, James E. St. Clair, editors, ''Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court'' (2012), p. 339-340.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 200 ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page
who had begun a tailoring business in 1905, which eventually grew to a department store called the Levine Boston Store with locations in several cities. Levine enrolled at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and, as an

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

member, was commissioned to serve in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

,"Isadore Levine Dies; Served On High Court", '' The Indianapolis Star'' (April 7, 1963), Section 1, p. 17. but was never sent overseas as the war ended in an Armistice less than a week before his scheduled deployment date. He then received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1920, and an J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1921. Levine entered the practice of law in

La Porte, Indiana La Porte (French for "The Door") is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, India ...

, and also maintained an active role in the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

, holding several offices in that organization including Third District Commander of the American Legion, commander of the Hamon Gray Post in LaPorte, and, from 1935 to 1943, member of the National Executive Committee. In January 1955, Governor

George N. Craig George North Craig (August 6, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American attorney and politician who served as the List of governors of Indiana, 39th Governor of Indiana, governor of the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Indiana from 19 ...

appointed Levine a seat on the Indiana Supreme Court vacated by the resignation of Floyd S. Draper. It was understood that Levine and fellow appointee George Henley would only serve for a few months, and then resign in favor of more permanent appointees. Nevertheless, Levine was the first Jewish justice on the Indiana Supreme Court. In 1958, Levine became president of the family department store business, continuing in that role, and in the practice of law, until his death.

References

Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court 1897 births 1963 deaths People from Michigan City, Indiana University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni 20th-century American judges {{US-state-judge-stub