Allan Guy Shepard (December 18, 1922 – May 27, 1989)Justice Shepard, 66, dies of heart failure
, ''The Twin Falls Times-News'' (May 28, 1989), p. 1. was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served on the

Idaho Supreme Court The Idaho Supreme Court is the state supreme court of Idaho and is composed of the chief justice and four associate judge, justices. The decisions of the Idaho Supreme Court are binding on all other Idaho State court (United States), state court ...

for two decades, including time as chief justice. He was previously the state's

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

for six years, preceded by four years as a

state legislator A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Early life and education

Born in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, Shepard studied engineering at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, then left to serve in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a

B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

waist gunner. He completed his bachelor's and law degrees at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Career

Shepard was a two-term

from

Ada County Ada County is located in the southwestern part of Idaho, United States. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 494,967, which by 2024 was estimated to have risen to 535,799. Ada County is by far the state's most populous county; ...

when elected state attorney general in 1962 and re-elected in 1966. As attorney general, he was an active member of the

National Association of Attorneys General The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of state and territory attorneys general in the United States which therefore means that the United States Attorney General in the federal government is n ...

. Elected to the Idaho Supreme Court in August 1968, Shepard served as a justice for over two decades, with three stints as chief justice, including the final two years. He was the first in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

to be elected to all three branches of the state government, and the time of his death, he was believed to be the only person in state history to obtain that distinction; Wayne Kidwell became the second in 1998.

Personal life

After a heart attack in late-1987, Shepard had another in May 1989 and died of complications at age 66 at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Allan 1919 births 1989 deaths Idaho lawyers Idaho Republicans Idaho attorneys general Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II University of Washington School of Law alumni 20th-century American judges 20th-century Idaho politicians 20th-century American lawyers