Lawrence T. Harris
Encyclopedia
Lawrence T. Harris was an American politician and lawyer in the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. He was the 45th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...

, serving from 1914 to 1924. An a native Oregonian, he also served as a state court judge and in 1903 was the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....

. After leaving the state's highest court he returned to private practice in Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

.

Early life

Lawrence Harris was born on September 13, 1873 in Oregon’s Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...

 in Albany, Oregon
Albany, Oregon
Albany is the eleventh largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon, and is the county seat of Linn County. It is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton counties, just east of Corvallis and south of Salem. It is...

. He received his primary education in the local public schools before attending the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...

 in Eugene
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

. At the University of Oregon he earned two degrees, first with a bachelor’s degree in arts and letters in 1893. Then in 1896 he was awarded his masters degree in the same subject. Harris completed his education with an LLB from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 in 1896.

Legal career

Lawrence Harris then passed the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 and began practicing law in Eugene and Albany in Oregon. In 1901 Harris was elected as a Republican to represent Eugene in the Oregon House of Representatives. In 1903, he was reelected to the House where he was selected as Speaker of the House. Then in 1905 Harris was appointed as judge to Oregon’s 2nd Judicial District. On that court he then won re-election and continued to serve until 1914.

In the 1914 general election Harris was elected to the Oregon Supreme Court, replacing William Marion Ramsey
William Marion Ramsey
William Marion Ramsay was an American politician and judge in Oregon. He was the 43rd Associate Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court serving from 1913 to 1915...

on the court. He won re-election to a second six-year term in 1920, and then resigned from the bench on January 15, 1924.

Works authored

Harris wrote several articles on the history of Oregon’s judicial department. In 1922 his History of the Oregon Code (1 Or. L. Rev.) was published in the Oregon Law Review while in 1938 his A History of the Judiciary of Oregon was published in the Oregon Supreme Court Record.

Family and later life

In 1904 Lawrence Harris was married to Jennie B. Beattie. In 1959 he was awarded the UO Distinguished Service Award for UO Faculty from his alma mater. After leaving the court, he returned to private practice in Eugene and served on the bar examiner's board for Oregon. Harris died in Eugene on January 21, 1960 after a long illness at the age of 86.
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