Samuel Barnett Kemp (December 26, 1871 – August 14, 1962) was a justice of the

Hawaii Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the State of Hawaii in the United States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The principal purpose of the Supreme Court is to review the decisions of ...

from March 7, 1918 to April 17, 1922, and again as chief justice from June 20, 1941 to June 30, 1950.Supreme Court of Hawaii Again Has 3 Members
, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' (October 29, 1951), pt. 2, p. 2. Born in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

to James B. and Eliza S. (Woodward) Kemp, Kemp was educated in the public schools of Texas.George F. Nellist, ed.,
The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders
, ''

Honolulu Star Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolulu Advertiser''). ...

'', Territory of Hawaii (1925). Kemp attended the

Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...

, and in 1900 received an

LL.B. 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 Chi ...

from the University of Texas, thereafter beginning his legal career in Austin. In 1914 Kemp became the judge of

Coke County, Texas Coke County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,285. Its county seat is Robert Lee. The county was founded in 1889 and is named for Richard Coke, the 15th governor ...

, serving in that capacity until 1916, when he moved to

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

to become

assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal go ...

. Kemp was appointed to the First Circuit court of Hawaii on March 20, 1917, by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...

. On March 7, 1918, Wilson elevated Kemp to serve as an associate justice of the Territorial Supreme Court. Kemp retired from the court on April 17, 1922, when Kemp "retired to private practice in partnership with S. C. Huber, former United States attorney for Hawaii", also serving as president and director of the Hawaii Lumber Co., Ltd. Kemp returned to public service in the 1930s, serving as a member of the Board of Prison Directors from July 27, 1935 to September 3, 1935, and of the Hawaii Housing Authority from August 27, 1935 to January 11, 1937. He also served as a member of the Public Utilities Commission from January 29, 1936 to January 6, 1937, and on the Farm Loan Board from January 30, 1937 to July 12, 1938. From December 1936 to December 1940, Kemp was

Attorney General of Hawaii The Attorney General of Hawaii ( haw, Loio Kuhina) is the chief legal officer and chief law enforcement officer of Hawaii. In present-day statehood within the United States, the Attorney General is appointed by the elected governor with the approv ...

. From June 5, 1941 to June 5, 1953, Kemp served on the Territorial Loyalty Board. On June 20, 1941, Kemp returned to the Hawaii Supreme Court as Chief Justice, having been appointed to the position by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

.''The Alcalde: The University of Texas Alumni Magazine'' (January 1963), p. 25.

Personal life

Kemp married May S. Hope in 1904, with whom he had a daughter, Dorothy Kemp, who attended Punahou School. In 1958, Kemp attended the 75 anniversary celebration of the University of Texas, and having come from Hawaii for the event was noted as having traveled the farthest to attend. He died in Honolulu in 1962, at the age of 91.

References

Justices of the Hawaii Supreme Court 1871 births 1962 deaths Lawyers from Austin, Texas University of Texas alumni Texas state court judges Hawaii state court judges Hawaii attorneys general United States Article I federal judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson United States Article I federal judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt 20th-century American judges Assistant United States Attorneys {{Hawaii-state-judge-stub