Robert Leonard Larson (September 20, 1898 – October 6, 1986) was a justice of the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a chief justice and six associate justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...

from February 9, 1953, to April 1, 1971, appointed from

Johnson County, Iowa Johnson County is located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 152,854, making it the fourth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa. Johnson County is include ...

. He was previously

Attorney General of Iowa The Attorney General of Iowa is the chief legal officer of the State of Iowa, United States. The office was created February 9, 1853. The Office of the Attorney General is housed in the Lucas State Office Building in Des Moines; the attorney gen ...

from 1947 to 1953.

Personal life

Larson was born in

Fairfield, Iowa Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The median family income is $46,138, with 10% of families belo ...

to Charles Leonard Larson and Nellie (Stever) Larson. He graduated from

Parsons College Parsons College was a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college located in Fairfield, Iowa. The school was named for its wealthy benefactor, Lewis B. Parsons Sr., and was founded in 1875 with one ...

in 1921. He served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

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 ...

. He later attended the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

before receiving his J.D. degree from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1930. While at Iowa he was initiated into

Sigma Pi Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity in North America. As of 2021, it had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 118,000 alumni. The fraternity is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded on February 26, 1897, at Vincennes Uni ...

fraternity. After graduating he practiced law in

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

until 1943 while also teaching at public schools in Wapello and Anamosa. From 1937 to 1941 he was the Solicitor of Iowa City and on the Johnson County Republican Central Committee. Larson was a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic body, Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over ...

, the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

, and the Rotary. He married Helen Kruse on June 1, 1922 and later to Wilma Donham on March 12, 1938. He had four children.

Government

Larson began serving as the assistant attorney general of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in 1943. He was appointed as the state's

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

in 1947 to fill the unexpired term of

John M. Rankin John Mercer Rankin (June 9, 1873 – June 20, 1947) was an American judge, lawyer, and politician. Life Born in Fulton County, Illinois, Rankin served in the 6th Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish–American War. He went to ...

. He was elected to the office in 1948 and served until 1953. In 1952 he turned down an opportunity to run for

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 ...

. In 1953, he was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court by Governor William S. Beardsley. He served a six-month term as the Chief Justice in 1955. He became the first permanent Chief Justice from 1959 to 1961.

Notable cases

Katko v. Briney while an associate justice of the Iowa Supreme Court.

References

External links

* Iowa attorneys general Justices of the Iowa Supreme Court 1898 births 1986 deaths 20th-century Iowa state court judges Chief justices of the Iowa Supreme Court United States Navy personnel of World War I Sigma Pi members {{Iowa-state-judge-stub