Earl C. Latourette
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Earl Cornelius Latourette (February 10, 1889 – August 18, 1956) was the 32nd Chief Justice of the
Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest State court (United States), state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.
and a
Clackamas County Clackamas County ( ) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the na ...
Circuit Court judge. He served as chief justice for two years and died while still in office as a justice in 1956.


Early life

Latourette was born in
Oregon City, Oregon Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...
, on February 10, 1889, to Charles David Latourette and his wife Sedonia Bird Shaw Latourette.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. Both parents were pioneer settlers to
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
. He had three brothers; Mortimer Dillon, Howard Fenton, and John Randolph. The LaTourette family were
French Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Besançon ...
who fled persecution and settled in
Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
in the late 1600s. Family members began moving westward in the 1800s, settling in
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and
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. In 1879 LaTourette's father moved from Michigan to Oregon City to form a law partnership with his cousin, Dewitt Clinton Latourette. LaTourette attended the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
, where he was on the football and track teams. He was the starting quarterback of the 1910 Oregon football team and led the team to victory over arch-rival
Oregon Agricultural College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...
before suffering a knee injury in the final minute of play. He earned All-Northwest Honors for two seasons. Following college, he enrolled at the
University of Oregon School of Law The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus i ...
, which at that time was located in Portland. He graduated in 1912, and then passed the
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...
in 1915. Latourette began practicing law in Oregon City after passing the bar, and remained in private practice until 1931.


Judicial career

In 1931, he was appointed as a circuit court judge for Oregon’s 5th judicial district that included
Clackamas County Clackamas County ( ) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the na ...
, holding that position until 1950.Patterson, Rod. New museum provides visitors with fine sense of county's history. ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
'', September 13, 1990.
During his time on the bench he lived in Oregon City, and in 1936 attended the funeral of fellow judge
John Hugh McNary John Hugh McNary (January 31, 1867 – October 25, 1936) was an American attorney and jurist in the state of Oregon. He served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon in Portland. A native ...
. Then on January 19, 1950
Oregon Governor The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...
Douglas McKay James Douglas McKay (June 24, 1893 – July 22, 1959) was an American businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in World War I before going into business, where he was most successful as a car dealership owner in Salem ...
appointed Latourette to replace E. M. Page on the
Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest State court (United States), state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.
.Oregon Blue Book: Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Supreme Court Justices of Oregon
/ref> Page had resigned from his position the day before, less than a year after he had been appointed to the court. Later that year Latourette won election to a full six-year term on the bench. Then in 1953 he was selected by his fellow justices to be Chief Justice, serving as Chief Justice until 1955. During this time as Chief Justice, future politician
Norma Paulus Norma Jean Paulus (née Petersen; March 13, 1933 – February 28, 2019) was an American lawyer and politician in the state of Oregon. A native of Nebraska, she was raised in Eastern Oregon before becoming a lawyer. A Republican, she first ...
clerked for him. Latourette encouraged her to attend law school, which she did at
Willamette University College of Law The Willamette University School of Law (previously known as the Willamette University College of Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Willamette University. Located in Salem, Oregon, Salem, Oregon, and founded in 1883, Wil ...
. On August 18, 1956, Justice Earl Latourette died in office


Family

On April 30, 1912, Earl C. Latourette married Ruth Steiwer of Fossil, Oregon. Ruth was the daughter of William H. Steiwer, and a member of a prominent political family from Eastern Oregon. The couple’s children included daughters Anne Latourette Cook, Jeanne Latourette Linklater and Earl C. "Neil" Latourette, Jr. (d. 1982). Earl C. later married Eleanor Marshall in 1949, and they did not have any children.


Other

*The oldest house in
Gearhart, Oregon Gearhart is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,462 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. History The ...
belonged to the Latourette family beginning in 1926. Earl’s father Charles David Latourette later had his two sons Earl and brother John flip a coin to determine who would inherit the property with John winning the coin toss.Butterworth, Beverly. A bang-up celebration heralds Fourth of July. ''The Oregonian'', July 12, 1992. *Justice Latourette donated the land in Oregon City where the Clackamas County Historical Society’s museum is located.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latourette, Earl C. Politicians from Oregon City, Oregon 1956 deaths Oregon state court judges 1889 births Oregon Ducks football players University of Oregon School of Law alumni Chief justices of the Oregon Supreme Court 20th-century American judges Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court