Renz L. Jennings (August 5, 1899 – February 11, 1983) was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Arizona 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 justice ...

from December 12, 1960 to August 5, 1964. Jennings twice sought the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate, losing in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

and 1964.

Early life and education

Jennings parents died when he was young and he was raised by siblings. He served in the military during

World War I 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 ...

. After the war, Jennings was one of seven people who passed the 1926 Arizona Bar Exam.Past Maricopa County Attorneys Retrieved March 6, 2017
In 1927, Jennings married Leola, a teacher and graduate of Tempe Normal. The couple had to keep the marriage a secret since at the time it was considered socially improper for a teacher to be married. Jennings attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

and 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 ...

Career

Jennings served as a Democratic member of

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Arizona Senate, Senate. The House convenes in the le ...

from 1931 until 1932, representing

Maricopa County Maricopa County () is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and ...

in the 10th Arizona State Legislature. Jennings was elected Maricopa County Attorney and served from 1933 until 1934. Jenning ran in Democratic primary for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in 1934, losing to incumbent senator Henry Fountain Ashurst, with Jennings receiving 18.9% of the vote. Jennings took fourth in the 1941 Democratic primary for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, losing to incumbent John R. Murdock, with Jennings getting 8.2% of the vote. Jennings was appointed as a judge to the Maricopa County Superior Court on January 29, 1949, serving until he was elected to the Supreme Court in 1960. Jennings defeated Republican incumbent Robert O. Lesher, with Lesher getting 61,210 votes to Jennings's 96,824. Jennings served as a justice of the

from December 12, 1960, to August 5, 1964. In 1964, he resigned from the Court to run for the Senate again, this time for the seat held by

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

. Governor

Paul Fannin Paul Jones Fannin (January 29, 1907January 13, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. A Republican, he served as a U.S. Senator from Arizona from 1965 to 1977. He previously served as the 11th governor of Arizona from 1959 to 1965. Ea ...

appointed Edward W. Scruggs to fill the vacancy created by Jennings resignation. Jennings lost the 6-way democratic primary to

Roy Elson Roy L. Elson (October 1, 1930 – February 25, 2010)http://death-records.mooseroots.com/l/167708824/Roy-Lane-Elson was an American politician from Arizona, and a onetime aide and protégé of longtime U.S. Senator Carl Hayden (D-AZ). He was perh ...

. While on the Supreme Court, Jennings appeared in the May 17, 1961, episode of '' I've Got a Secret'' as part of a "Trio of one-man bands," where Jennings played the guitar, harmonica, and drums at the same time.I've Got a Secret, May 17, 1961 YouTube.com Retrieved March 6, 2017

Death

Jennings died on February 11, 1983. While swimming he apparently had a heart attack and Leola, who did not swim, could not pull him out of the pool. Leola died on June 17, 2005, at age 101. They were members 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 ...

References

Publications

* Renz L. Jennings, ''The Boy From Taylor'', Carthage Press (1977)

External links

Biography at OurCampaigns
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Renz L. Justices of the Arizona Supreme Court Brigham Young University alumni University of Arizona alumni Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives People from Navajo County, Arizona Writers from Arizona 1899 births 1983 deaths 20th-century members of the Arizona State Legislature