Richard Winn Holmes (February 23, 1923 – September 4, 1999) was a justice of the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the sta ...

from September 17, 1977, to September 1, 1990, and chief justice from September 1, 1990, to August 31, 1995. Holmes was appointed to replace Robert H. Kaul, joining the court at the same time as

Kay McFarland Kay McFarland (July 20, 1935 – August 18, 2015) was a chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. She was the first female elected to a judgeship in Shawnee County, Kansas, first appointed to the state supreme court, and first to hold the title ...

. Prior to the supreme court appointment Holmes had worked for the law firm Holmes, Mellor, Schaefer and Compton in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, and was also the chairman of the Wichita Bar Association's Ethics and Grievance Committee. In 1992 he was awarded the "Award of Merit" from the American Judges Association, an award that was renamed in 2000 to be the "Chief Justice Richard W. Holmes Award of Merit". In 1959 he founded the North American Judges Association, and was the chairman of the Kansas Judicial Council for two years. Holmes retired from the supreme court on August 31, 1995, at the age of 72 when

took his place as Chief Justice of the

. He retired 16 months earlier than the designated term end after participating in over 3600 decisions. The vacant position was then taken by

Edward Larson Edward John Larson (born September 21, 1953, in Mansfield, Ohio) is an American historian and legal scholar. He is university professor of history and holds the Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University. He was formerly Herma ...

. Holmes originated in

and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

served in the Navy. He obtained a degree in business administration in 1950 from the

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, then obtained his law degree from the

Washburn University School of Law The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of ...

in 1953. He started his career practising law with his father, with a speciality in corporation and probate law. He died September 4, 1999, at his home in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

at the age of 76.

References

External links

Photograph of the Kansas Supreme Court Justices 1978 (including Holmes)

Richard W. Holmes - Find a Grave
Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court Washburn University alumni Kansas State University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II 1923 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American judges {{Kansas-state-judge-stub