Background
Lawrence Harris was born on September 13, 1873 in Oregon’s Willamette Valley in Albany, Oregon.
Lawrence Harris was born on September 13, 1873 in Oregon’s Willamette Valley in Albany, Oregon.
University of Michigan. University of Michigan Law School. University of Oregon.
He was the 45th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, 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. After leaving the state"s highest court he returned to private practice in Eugene, Oregon.
He received his primary education in the local public schools before attending the University of Oregon in Eugene.
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 Bachelor of Laws from the University of Michigan in 1896. Lawrence Harris then passed the bar 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. In the 1914 general election Harris was elected to the Oregon Supreme Court, replacing William Marion Ramsey on the court.
Works authored Harris wrote several articles on the history of Oregon’s judicial department.
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.