Levi Stewart Udall (January 20, 1891 – May 30, 1960) was an American lawyer who served as chief justice of the

Arizona Supreme Court The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justi ...

. He was a member of the Udall political family. Born and raised in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, he was the son of

David King Udall David King Udall, Sr. (September 7, 1851 – February 18, 1938) was an American politician who was a representative to the Arizona Territorial Legislature and the founder of the Udall political family. Childhood years David King Udall was born ...

, a politician, and Ella Stewart Udall, the first telegraph operator in the

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

. He was named after his grandfather, Levi Stewart. He was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. In 1914 he married Louisa Lee, a granddaughter of John D. Lee and

Jacob Hamblin Jacob Hamblin (April 2, 1819 – August 31, 1886) was a Western pioneer, a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and a diplomat to various Native American tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin. He a ...

. They would later have six children. He passed the Arizona

Bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

in 1922, and was admitted to the bar, without having earned a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

(a common practice in those days). Later that year he succeeded his father as

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

of the St. Johns Stake, a position he held until 1945. In 1922, he lost a bid to be elected as clerk to the Arizona Superior Court. He was defeated by his older brother

John Hunt Udall John Hunt Udall (August 23, 1889 – March 3, 1959) was mayor of Phoenix, Arizona from 1936 to 1938. He was a member of the Udall political family. Biography The son of David King Udall and Ida Frances (Hunt) Udall, he was born and ra ...

. In 1946 he was elected to the Arizona Supreme Court, and remained a Justice of that court from 1947 until his death. In 1948 Udall wrote the majority opinion of the Arizona State Supreme Court granting Native Americans living on reservations the right to vote. From 1951 to 1952 and 1957–1958 he served as the chief justice of that court. In 1960 he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. He died on May 30 of that year.

Legacy

* His half-brother, Jesse Addison Udall, succeeded him as Justice and later Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme court. * His son

Stewart Udall Stewart Lee Udall (January 31, 1920 – March 20, 2010) was an American politician and later, a federal government official who belonged to the Democratic Party. After serving three terms as a congressman from Arizona, he served as Secretary ...

, was a U.S. Congressman from Arizona, and U.S. Secretary of the Interior. * Another of his sons,

Mo Udall Morris King Udall (June 15, 1922 – December 12, 1998) was an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. representative from Arizona from May 2, 1961, to May 4, 1991. He was a leading contender for the 1976 Democratic pr ...

, was a U.S. Congressman for 30 years, and a candidate for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

in 1976. * His grandson,

Mark Udall Mark Emery Udall ( ; born July 18, 1950) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, repres ...

, was a U.S. Senator from

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

from 2009 to 2015 and was a U.S. Congressman from 1999 to 2009. * His grandson,

Tom Udall Thomas Stewart Udall ( ; born May 18, 1948) is an American diplomat, attorney, and politician who had served as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator for N ...

, is a U.S. Senator from

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

from 2009 to 2021 and was a U.S. Congressman from 1999 to 2009. * His son, D. Burr Udall, is a practicing attorney at the Udall Law Firm LLP in Tucson, Arizona.

References

External links

Levi Stewart Udall collection at the University of Arizona

at the

Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Udall, Levi Stewart 1891 births 1960 deaths 20th-century American judges American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Arizona lawyers Chief justices of the Arizona Supreme Court Justices of the Arizona Supreme Court Latter Day Saints from Arizona People from St. Johns, Arizona People from Wickenburg, Arizona Udall family