Oliver Starr (December 10, 1883 – March 28, 1961) 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 1, 1945, to January 1, 1951.

Early life, education, and career

Born in Wells County, Indiana, Starr received an A.B. from Indiana University in 1905, and an LL.B. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1908.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
He was a city attorney for Gary, Indiana, and a prosecuting attorney for Lake County, Indiana,Floyd S. Draper et al., "In Memoriam", 240 ''Indiana Reports'' (1961), p. xlvi, xlvi-xlvii. for which he prosecuted the noted bombing of the State Theater.Linda C. Gugin, James E. St. Clair, ''Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court'' (2010), p. 307-309. Starr left the prosecutor's office in 1931, and entered private practice.

Political and judicial career

A Republican,'' The Indianapolis Star'' (June 6, 1934), p. 11. Starr ran unsuccessfully for an appellate court seat in 1934, and for the United States Senate in 1938. In 1944, he ran for a seat on the Supreme Court of Indiana, and succeeded as part of an election in which the Republican Party swept major offices throughout the state. Starr thereafter served on the Indiana Supreme Court from 1945 to 1951. As a Justice, Starr authored 124 opinions, including a noted opinion holding a Circuit Court Judge in contempt for the politically motivated appointment of a special prosecutor.

Personal life

Starr married Mary Helen Snyder on June 23, 1913, with whom he three sons and two daughters. He died in Chesterton, Indiana.

References

Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court 1883 births 1961 deaths People from Wells County, Indiana Indiana University alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni Indiana Republicans 20th-century American judges {{US-state-judge-stub