Alvin C. Strutz (May 5, 1903 – June 16, 1973) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. He served as the

North Dakota attorney general The North Dakota attorney general is the chief legal officer of the North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian pr ...

from 1937 to 1944 and ran for

governor of North Dakota The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's North Dakota National Guard, military forces. The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is ves ...

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

. He served as chief justice of the

North Dakota Supreme Court The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts. Each of the five justices is elected on a no-party ballot for a ten-year ...

in 1967 and from 1971 to 1973, and as a justice of the court from 1959 through 1974. He died while serving on the court at the age of 70 in 1973 after serving for 14 years.

Biography

Alvin Strutz was born on May 5, 1903, in

Milbank Milbank LLP (commonly known as Milbank) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. It also has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Seoul, and Singapore. History Mi ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. the son of Rev. and Mrs. R. E. Strutz of Jamestown, North Dakota. He attended the public

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

and

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in Jamestown, graduating from Jamestown High School in 1921. He graduated from

Jamestown College Jamestown may refer to Places Australia *Jamestown, South Australia Barbados *Holetown, Saint James, Barbados; sometimes called its founding name, Jamestown Canada * Mount Olive-Silverstone-Jamestown, a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, common ...

in 1925 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. He spent two years after his graduation as a high school teacher, and entered law school at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

in 1927, graduating in 1930 with a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

. He practiced law in Jamestown from 1930 until April 1933 when he moved his practice to Bismarck, North Dakota. In December 1937, Sturtz was appointed by the governor as

attorney general of North Dakota Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gov ...

upon the resignation of Peter O. Sathre (who had been appointed to the

). He served in that capacity until 1944 when he did not seek re-election.North Dakota Blue Book, 1942 He was elected to a full term in 1938 and reelected in 1940 and 1942. In

, instead of seeking reelection, Sturtz unsuccessfully ran for

. After leaving office as attorney general, Sturtz practiced law in Bismarck until being appointed to the North Dakota Supreme Court. In 1967, Strutz was appointed to the North Dakota Supreme Court effective April 11, 1959, to the seat vacated by the

death in office A death in office is the death of a person who was incumbent of an office-position until the time of death. Such deaths have been usually due to natural causes, but they are also caused by accidents, suicides, disease and assassinations. The deat ...

of Nels Johnson. He served until his own death in office at the age of 70 on June 16, 1975. During his tenure on the court, he served as the chief justice twice: in 1967 and again from 1971 to 1973. Strutz was married to Vee Minor on August 28, 1930, in

Riceville, Iowa Riceville is a city in Howard and Mitchell counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 806 at the time of the 2020 census. History Riceville was platted in 1855 by three of the Rice brothers, Leonard, Dennis, and Gilbert. Riceville ...

. They had three children; William, Donna Vee and Judith Ann.

Notes

External links

Alvin C. Strutz biographyNorth Dakota Supreme Court official website
1903 births 1973 deaths North Dakota attorneys general University of North Dakota alumni Chief justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court People from Jamestown, North Dakota Politicians from Bismarck, North Dakota 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges {{NorthDakota-state-judge-stub