Richard Joseph Hopkins (April 4, 1873 – August 28, 1943) was a justice of the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the sta ...

and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Kansas The United States District Court for the District of Kansas (in case citations, D. Kan.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Kansas. The Court operates out of the Robert J. Dole United States Courthouse in Kansas ...

Education and career

Born in

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the princip ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, Hopkins received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

from

Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law schoo ...

in 1901. He was in private practice in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

from 1901 to 1906, and in Garden City,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

from 1906 to 1913. He was a member of the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocke ...

in 1909, and was thereafter the 19th

Lieutenant Governor of Kansas The lieutenant governor of Kansas is the second-ranking member of the executive branch of Kansas state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four-year term. The lieutenant governor succeeds to the of ...

, from 1911 to 1912 serving under Governor

Walter R. Stubbs Walter Roscoe Stubbs (November 7, 1858 March 25, 1929) was an American businessman who served as the 18th Governor of Kansas. Stubbs, a progressive Republican, was known for his prohibitionist beliefs, as well as for having signed the nation' ...

. Hopkins was a city attorney of Garden City from 1913 to 1918. He was the

Kansas Attorney General The Attorney General of Kansas is a statewide elected official responsible for providing legal services to the state government of Kansas. Kris Kobach assumed office on January 9, 2023. Divisions * Criminal Justice * Civil Litigation * Consumer ...

from 1919 to 1923. He was an associate justice of the

from 1923 to 1929.

Federal judicial service

On October 17, 1929, Hopkins was nominated by President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, holding o ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

George Thomas McDermott George Thomas McDermott (October 21, 1886 – January 19, 1937) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for ...

. Hopkins was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

on December 19, 1929, and received his commission the same day. Hopkins served in that capacity until his death on August 28, 1943 in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, Kansas. He was interred in Highland Park Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Richard Joseph 1873 births 1943 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas United States district court judges appointed by Herbert Hoover 20th-century American judges Lieutenant Governors of Kansas Kansas Attorneys General Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court Members of the Kansas House of Representatives Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni People from Garden City, Kansas