Luther Marcellus Goddard (October 27, 1840 – May 20, 1917) was an associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court from 1891 to 1901 and from 1905 to 1909.

Education and early career

Goddard was born in Palmyra, New York and went to elementary school there. His family moved to

Abingdon, Illinois Abingdon is a city in Knox County, Illinois, Knox County, Illinois, United States, west of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. It is part of the Galesburg, Illinois, Galesburg Galesburg micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city was first ...

, where he completed his secondary schooling. In 1862, he moved to

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

and began to

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, then enrolling in the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

in 1864. He graduated in 1865 and was named class valedictorian. He was admitted to the bar soon after graduating and then returned to Leavenworth. In Leavenworth, Goddard served for two years as deputy county attorney, then he was elected county attorney for two terms. In fall 1871, he was elected to serve in the Kansas legislature.

Career in Colorado

Goddard moved to

Leadville, Colorado The City of Leadville is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorad ...

in 1878. There, he became involved in the mining industry and also practiced law. In 1882 and 1888, he was elected and re-elected judge of the 5th Judicial District. An attempt was made to remove Goddard from his district court seat through disbarment. He was accused of agreeing to accept a campaign contribution in return for appointing the donor clerk of the court if he were elected. The court ruled in favor of Goddard. In 1892, the Populist and Democratic parties nominated him as their candidate for the Colorado Supreme Court Justice, and he was elected, serving until his term ended in 1901. While serving on the court this term, Goddard was one of the three justices that heard the '' Courvoisier v. Raymond'' case, a case that involved mistaken self-defense. During this period he moved to Denver. In 1905, the Supreme Court was reorganized, and Governor Peabody appointed Goddard to serve a second term on the court. Soon after he began serving his second Supreme Court term, a bomb was placed at his Denver residence, but it didn't go off.

Death

Goddard died May 20, 1917, in Denver, age 79. He's buried in Denver's Riverside Cemetery.

References

Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court 1840 births 1917 deaths People from Palmyra, New York Lawyers from Denver University of Chicago Law School alumni People from Leadville, Colorado Members of the Kansas House of Representatives 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers {{US-state-judge-stub