Oscar Raymond Holcomb (December 31, 1869 – September 14, 1948) was an American lawyer, and justice of the

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the ...

from 1915 to 1927, and again from 1927 to 1939. Defeated in a bid for reelection in 1926, Holcomb's term expired early in 1927. Within several months, he was appointed to the vacancy caused by the death of Justice Jesse B. Bridges. Holcomb served as chief justice of the Court from 1919 to 1921.

Early life and education

Holcomb was born in

Gibson County, Indiana Gibson County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 33,503. The county seat is Princeton. History In 1787, the fledgling United States defined the Northwest T ...

, to Mary Ann Hopkins (1840–1917) and Silas Mercer Holcomb (1838–1906), an attorney. Holcomb attended the public schools in

Fort Branch, Indiana Fort Branch is the largest town and second largest community in Gibson County, Indiana after Princeton and ahead of the county's other city, Oakland City. The population was 2,771 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville, Indiana, Metropo ...

, and enrolled in Southwestern Indiana Normal School, at

Princeton, Indiana Princeton is the largest city in and the county seat of Patoka Township, Gibson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 8,301 at the 2020 United States Census, and it is part of the greater Evansville, Indiana, Metropolitan Area. Hi ...

. After graduation, he attended the

Chicago College of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...

and received his LL.B. degree in 1892.

Legal and judicial career

Following law school, Holcomb engaged in private practice in Evansville, Indiana, before moving to

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, in March 1894, and then in April 1894 to Ritzville, where he lived for the next for 15 years. He held a series of public offices. He was Prosecuting Attorney for Adams County from March 1895 to 1898, and then served as Commissioner for Arid Lands for the State Washington, 1898–1901. He was a City Councilman of Ritzville, Washington, for several terms; and was a member of the school board and the county electrical utility. In 1902, he unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Progressive Democrat. In 1908, he was elected judge of the state Superior Court for Adams, Franklin and Benton Counties, taking office in 1909, and was re-elected in 1912. From 1915 to 1939, Holcomb was a justice of the Washington state Supreme Court, with a short break in 1927. He served a two-year term as chief justice from 1919 to 1921. In the 1914 election for the Supreme Court, the state Trades Council endorsed Holcomb. On the bench, he had a sympathetic ear for labor issues. In the case of ''St. Germain v. Bakery and Confectionery Workers' Union of Seattle'' (1917), the Supreme Court upheld in an 8–1 opinion an anti-picketing law, with Holcomb as the sole hold out.

Personal life

On June 12, 1894, he married Eva Staser (1871–1934), and had four children. He died on September 14, 1948, and was buried at Tacoma Cemetery in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holcomb, Oscar Raymond 1869 births 1948 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges Lawyers from Seattle People from Ritzville, Washington Justices of the Washington Supreme Court Chief Justices of the Washington Supreme Court Washington (state) Democrats Chicago-Kent College of Law alumni People from Evansville, Indiana People from Gibson County, Indiana