Fred Carl Gause (August 29, 1879 – February 15, 1944) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

who served as a justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dec ...

from November 1, 1923 to January 5, 1925.

Biography

Gause was born in

Greens Fork Greens Fork is a town in Clay Township, Wayne County, Indiana, Clay Township, Wayne County, Indiana, Wayne County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 335 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the 2010 census, the town has a ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

to a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

family. Two years after he was born, his father, Dr. Thomas Gause, was murdered by Arthur Brooks after Dr. Gause told Brooks's wife that her husband was having an

extramarital affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or solely em ...

. This caused Mr. Brooks to seek revenge, entering Gause's office, threatening him, and then shooting him with a revolver. Brooks was later convicted by a jury and given a harsh sentence. The case garnered media attention across Indiana. After the murder, Fred's mother, Christine Gause (née Boone), moved her family to Henry County.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is the law school of Indiana University Indianapolis, a public research university in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school has been based in Lawrence W. Inlow Hall in Indianapolis ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page
Fred Gause attended New Castle High School, graduating in 1897. Gause attended the

Indiana University Maurer School of Law The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is the law school of Indiana University Bloomington, a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. Established in 1842, the school is named after alumnus Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapo ...

in Bloomington from 1898 to 1900. He was admitted to the bar the same year he graduated. Gause returned to New Castle, where he

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

under John Morris and Eugene Bundy before beginning to practice law in the city himself. Gause became the Henry County Attorney, serving in the position from 1902 to 1912. Gause, a Republican, was elected judge of the Henry County

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

, serving from 1914 to 1923. As judge, Gause approved the use of funds raised to assist American soldiers fighting in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

to build Henry County Memorial Park, which remains open to this day. Gause was appointed to the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Warren T. McCray to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Howard L. Townsend. He is remembered as a prolific

opinion An opinion is a judgement, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive, as opposed to facts, which are true statements. Definition A given opinion may deal with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding, or it may deal ...

writer during his time on the bench. Gause wrote the opinion of the court in the case of ''Diamond v. Indiana'', regarding the legality of the

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

of an

insane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

person (the court's decision would later be reversed by the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

decision, '' Panetti v. Quarterman''). Gause left the bench in 1925 and was succeeded by Justice Willard Gemmill. Sources disagree about whether he chose not to run for re-election, or if he did seek re-election but was defeated. After leaving the court, Gause returned to private practice with the firm of Pickens, Gause & Pickens in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. Starting in 1926, Gause was a member of Indiana State Election Board, serving on the commission for many years, resigning shortly before his death. He was the President of the Indiana

Bar Association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.

in 1936 and the President of the Indianapolis Bar Association in 1941. In 1930, Gause was one of the lawyers who represented the State of Indiana in the

case, ''Kentucky v. Indiana'', regarding a dispute about the construction of a bridge over the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

to connect

Evansville Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...

and

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

. Gause was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, a member of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...

, a member of the

Columbia Club The Columbia Club is a private club located on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The club was founded in 1889 and the current structure was built in 1925 as the club's third home on the same site. Club history Th ...

, and a member of the Indianapolis Chapter of the Citizens Historical Association. In 1904, Gause married Mollie Cummins of Bluffton. They had one child, a daughter named Katherine. Gause died in 1944 in Indianapolis. He is buried in

Crown Hill Cemetery Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high poi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gause, Fred 1879 births 1944 deaths People from Wayne County, Indiana Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court American judges Indiana Republicans American Quakers Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery