Robert Elmer Woodside, Jr. (June 4, 1904March 18, 1998) was an American politician and judge. He served four terms as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, one term as Attorney General, and one term on the Superior Court.

Early life

Woodside was born in Millersburg,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, the son of Robert E. and Ella Neitz Woodside. He attended

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

, where he was a member of the Raven's Claw Society, graduating in 1926. He received a law degree from

Dickinson School of Law Penn State Dickinson Law, formerly Dickinson School of Law, is a public law school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separately accredited law schools of Pennsylvania State University. History The Law School offers J.D. and LL.M. ...

in 1928. He married F. Fairlee Habbart in 1931, and they had three children.

Political career

Early political career

He was first elected to the State House of Representatives in 1932 and served four terms, until 1941. From 1939 to 1941, he was Republican Floor Leader. He was then appointed a judge on the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas, where he served until he was appointed state Attorney General in 1951. He was appointed in 1953 to fill a vacancy on the state Superior Court. He was elected to a full ten-year term in 1954 and lost his 1964 bid for re-election.

Slot machine raids

Slot machines were illegal in Pennsylvania under an 1805 law, prohibiting mechanical gambling devices. Still, slot machines were popular at political clubs as fundraisers. In 1951, President

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

signed legislation banning the interstate transportation of slot machines in violation of state law. Woodside, with Pennsylvania Governor John S. Fine's encouragement, undertook an enforcement campaign against the machines. The first state Attorney General to do so, Woodside sent the State Police on thousands of raids when local district attorneys refused to co-operate. Over 700 clubs folded after their slot machines had been destroyed. In

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

, the mayor, the police chief, and twelve others were found guilty in 1954 of bribery and conspiracy regarding the machines.

Later political career

Woodside was appointed in 1953 to fill a vacancy on the state Superior Court. He was elected to a full ten-year term in 1954 but lost his 1964 bid for re-election. In 1962, Woodside had been drafted to run for state governor. US Senator

Hugh Scott Hugh Doggett Scott Jr. (November 11, 1900 – July 21, 1994) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1941 to 1945 and from 1947 to 1959 and in the ...

strongly opposed Woodside and ran in opposition but withdrew when party leaders backed

William Scranton William Warren Scranton (July 19, 1917 – July 28, 2013) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician and diplomat. Scranton served as the 38th governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967, and as United States Am ...

, then relatively unknown.

Later career

Woodside was an adjunct professor at Dickinson School of Law (1970-1990). He was a partner in the law firm Mette, Evans & Woodside.

Death

He died on vacation in

Sun City, Arizona Sun City is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, that is located within the Phoenix metropolitan area. The population wa ...

Bibliography

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodside, Robert Elmer, Jr. 1904 births 1998 deaths Politicians from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Dickinson College alumni Dickinson College faculty Pennsylvania attorneys general Pennsylvania Republicans 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly