Home County: Mercer
Term of service at the Supreme Court of Missouri: January 1943 - December 1966
Judge Laurance M. Hyde was born February 2, 1892, in Princeton, Missouri.[i] He was educated in the Princeton public schools before attending the University of Missouri-Columbia.[ii] In 1914, he received his bachelor’s degree and then pursued his law degree.[iii] Hyde was inspired to practice law because he came from a long line of generational attorneys starting with his great-great-grandfather.[iv] While in law school, he was a member of the legal honor societies Phi Delta Phi and the Order of the Coif.[v] He earned his law degree (LL.B) in 1916.[vi]
Upon graduation, Hyde was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1916, and later that year became City Attorney of Princeton until 1917.[vii] He continued to practice law in Princeton as a member of the firm Hyde, Hyde and Fuller until 1931 except during his military service in World War I.[viii] In 1930, he was admitted to practice law in front of the Supreme Court of the United States.[ix] In 1931, he was appointed as a Republican commissioner for the Supreme Court of Missouri and reappointed in 1935 and 1939.[x] He served there as a commissioner for 11 years until his appointment as judge.[xi]
When then-Governor Forrest C. Donnell appointed Hyde to the Court on December 31, 1942, he became the first judge appointed under the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan.[xii] On January 4, 1943, Governor Donnell announced that Judge Hyde, was elevated “from the office of Commissioner to the Missouri Supreme Court Bench.”[xiii] In 1944 and again in 1954, he was retained for a full term.[xiv] He served his first term as chief justice from August 12, 1949, to May 1, 1951, and his second term from April 12, 1960, to January 8, 1962.[xv] He also served as the first chairman of the National Conference of Chief Justices of the United States.[xvi] During his 35.5 years at the Supreme Court of Missouri, he wrote nearly 900 opinions before he retired on December 31, 1966,[xvii] when his term expired. The next month, in January of 1967, he reached mandatory retirement age of 75.[xviii] Despite his retirement, he continued to serve the Court as a special commissioner/senior judge until 1976.[xix]
In addition to Hyde’s contributions to the legal field, he was committed to education for his alma mater, the University of Missouri-Columbia. He was director of the Missouri Alumni Association from 1933 to 1942 and served as its president from 1942 to 1944.[xx] The MU alumni association awarded him for his outstanding service in 1942 for a term of two years.[xxi] He was also a trustee of the University of Missouri Law School Foundation for 25 years.[xxii] His alma mater conferred on him the honorary doctor of laws degree (LL.D) in 1948.[xxiii]
Throughout his legal career, Hyde was a member of various professional organizations such as the American Law Institute, the American Academy of Political Science, and the Council of Selection on Judicial Administration of the American Bar Association.[xxiv] He was active in The Missouri Bar for 20 years and served on its executive council prior to his appointment as commissioner of the Supreme Court of Missouri.[xxv] From 1938 to 1941, he was a delegate for Missouri in the American Bar Association House of Delegates and was chairman of its judicial administration section.[xxvi] During his term as Chief Justice, The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation awarded honorary membership to Judge Hyde for his contribution to the improvement of judicial selection and tenure.[xxvii]
Judge Hyde demonstrated his leadership capabilities in many other organizations, councils and conferences. He attended the first meeting of the Inter-American bar Association in Havana, Cuba, and served as the chairman of its Judicial Administration Section.[xxviii] In 1943, he served as secretary of the Judicial Conference of Missouri and as president of the National Conference of Judicial Councils from 1942 to 1943 and again from 1947 to 1949.[xxix] He also was a director of the American Judicature Society from 1940 to 1960 and chairman of its board from 1951 to 1955.[xxx] From 1958 to 1959, he was president and a fellow of the National Institute of Judicial Administration.[xxxi]
Hyde wrote many articles about English and American practice and procedure that were published in both legal periodicals and law reviews. Some of these articles were titled “The Missouri Plan for Selection and Tenure of Judges,”[xxxii] “Historical Review of the Judicial System of Missouri”[xxxiii] and “Use of the Jury in England and the United States.”[xxxiv]
Hyde died January 21, 1978, at the age of 85 in Jefferson City, Missouri.[xxxv]
[i] James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1965-1966, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1966), 219.
[ii] News Tribune Staff, “Rites Tuesday for Judge Hyde,” News Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 22, 1978. See also: James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1965-1966, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1966), 219.
[iii] News Tribune Staff, “Rites Tuesday for Judge Hyde.” News Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 22, 1978. See also: Walter H. Toberman, Secretary of State, Walter H. Toberman, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1953-1954, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 11954), 201.
[iv] The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997.
[v] The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997. See also: Walter H. Toberman, Secretary of State, Walter H. Toberman, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1953-1954, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 11954), 201.
[vi] News Tribune Staff, “Rites Tuesday for Judge Hyde.” News Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 22, 1978. See also: Walter H. Toberman, Secretary of State, Walter H. Toberman, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1953-1954, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1954), 201.
[vii] James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1965-1966, (Jefferson City, MO, 1966), 219. See also: Journal of Missouri Bar Staff, “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court: Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commissioner,” Journal of Missouri Bar vol. 14 (1943), 9.
[viii] News Tribune Staff, “Rites Tuesday for Judge Hyde.” News Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 22, 1978. See also: Journal of Missouri Bar Staff, “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court: Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commissioner,” Journal of Missouri Bar vol. 14 (1943), 9.
[ix] The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997.
[x] The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997. See also: Journal of Missouri Bar Staff, “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court: Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commissioner,” Journal of Missouri Bar vol. 14 (1943), 9. See also: Walter H. Toberman, Secretary of State, Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1959-1960, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1960), 201.
[xi] Walter H. Toberman, Secretary of State, Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1959-1960, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1960), 201. See also: The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997.
[xii] Dwight H. Brown, Secretary of State, Dwight H. Brown, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1943-1944, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printing, 1944), 203. See also: Journal of Missouri Bar Staff, “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court: Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commissioner,” Journal of Missouri Bar vol. 14 (1943), 9. See also: News Tribune Staff, “Rites Tuesday for Judge Hyde.” News Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 22, 1978.
[xiii] “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court, Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commisioner,” 14 MO. Bar Journal (1943), 9.
[xiv] News Tribune Staff, “Rites Tuesday for Judge Hyde.” News Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 22, 1978.
[xv] James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1965-1966, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1966), 219.
[xvi] James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1965-1966, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1966), 219.
[xvii] The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997.
[xviii] The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997.
[xix] News Tribune Staff, “Rites Tuesday for Judge Hyde.” News Tribune, (Jefferson City), Missouri, January 22, 1978. See also: The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997.
[xx] The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997.
[xxi] Journal of Missouri Bar Staff, “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court: Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commissioner,” Journal of Missouri Bar vol. 14 (1943), 9.
[xxii] The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997.
[xxiii] News Tribune Staff, “Rites Tuesday for Judge Hyde.” News Tribune, (Jefferson City), Missouri, January 22, 1978.
[xxiv] Dwight H. Brown, Secretary of State, Dwight H. Brown, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1943-1944, (Jefferson City, MO: State Printing, 1944), 203. See also: Journal of Missouri Bar Staff, “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court: Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commissioner,” Journal of Missouri Bar vol. 14 (1943), 9. See also: News Tribune Staff, “Rites Tuesday for Judge Hyde.” News Tribune, Jefferson City, Missouri, January 22, 1978.
[xxv] Journal of Missouri Bar Staff, “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court: Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commissioner,” Journal of Missouri Bar vol. 14 (1943), 9.
[xxvi] Journal of Missouri Bar Staff, “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court: Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commissioner,” Journal of Missouri Bar vol. 14 (1943), 9. See also: The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997.
[xxvii] The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, photograph description, Oxford, England, 1957, image filed in permanent file, in the law library.
[xxviii] Journal of Missouri Bar Staff, “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court: Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commissioner,” Journal of Missouri Bar vol. 14 (1943), 9.
[xxix] Journal of Missouri Bar Staff, “Laurance M. Hyde Appointed Judge Missouri Supreme Court: Paul Van Osdol Becomes Commissioner,” Journal of Missouri Bar vol. 14 (1943), 9. See also: James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1965-1966, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1966), 219.
[xxx] The Sunday News and Tribune Staff, “Judge Laurance M. Hyde Leaves Court – But Not Law.” The Sunday News and Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 1, 1997. See also: James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1965-1966, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1966), 219.
[xxxi] James C. Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State, Thelma P. Goodwin, ed., Official Manual, State of Missouri, 1965-1966, (Jefferson City, MO: Von Hoffmann Press, Inc., 1966), 219.
[xxxii] Laurance M. Hyde, “The Missouri Plan for Selection and Tenure of Judges,” Journal of Criminal and Criminology, vol. 39, no. 3, (September-October 1948), 277.
[xxxiii] Hon. Laurance M. Hyde, “Historical Review of the Judicial System of Missouri,” Vernon’s Annotated Missouri Statutes, Vol. 27, (Vernon Law Book Company, 1952), 1.
[xxxiv] Hon. Laurance M. Hyde, “Use of the Jury in England and the United States,” Journal of the Missouri Bar, vol. 14 (January 1958), 19.
[xxxv] News Tribune Staff, “Rites Tuesday for Judge Hyde.” News Tribune, (Jefferson City, Missouri), January 22, 1978.
Biographical information authored by Chloe Shoemaker, 2019, University of Missouri-Columbia, Missouri.