Louis Harry Burke (January 4, 1905 – April 28, 1986)[1] was an American lawyer who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from November 20, 1964, to November 30, 1974.
Burke was born in Montebello, California, to Joseph Burke (1870-1919) and Mie Anne Lucie Dion (April 13, 1881 – September 26, 1968), who had emigrated from Quebec, Canada, just prior to Louis' birth.
In 1927, Burke and his brother, Martin Joseph Burke (November 24, 1903 – October 4, 1997),[4] with Thomas P. White, founded the firm of Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP, also in its history called Burke, Hickson, Burke & Marshall.[5][6] Both Burke and White went on to serve as California Supreme Court justices. Burke was appointed Montebello city attorney in 1928, and also served as general counsel for the League of California Cities. In 1942, he ran unsuccessfully for election as state attorney general against Robert W. Kenny.[7]
In 1942, he volunteered for the U.S. Army.[7] He served in the interim government and as a military judge in occupied Germany until his discharge from the Army in 1946.[2]
Returning to California, he served as chairman of the California Veterans Welfare Board, and in 1951 was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court bench. In 1952, he issued an arrest warrant for Judy Garland to compel her to testify in the divorce trial of her boyfriend, Sid Luft, from his wife, the actress Lynn Bari.[8] In 1953, he was assigned to the Conciliation Court, where he fashioned a reconciliation agreement for couples.[9][10][11] In 1958, he was appointed presiding judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court,[12] and published a book on divorce, With This Ring.[13]
In 1961, Governor Edmund G. (Pat) Brown named Burke to the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court in 1964.[14] In 1966, he stood for election and was retained with 64.7% of the vote.[15] In 1974, he stepped down from the bench. He continued to sit as a judge pro tem on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and the Superior Courts.[16][17]
Among Burke's notable cases were those involving the death penalty, including In re Anderson (1968),[18][19] upholding the constitutionality of execution, followed by People v. Anderson (1974), striking it down.[20][21]
Burke helped to create the National College for State Judges and its California counterpart; he served as chairman of the Section on Judicial Administration of the American Bar Association[22] and of the Appellate Judges' Conference; and was an officer of the American Judicature Society.
In 1970, Burke was considered for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court and as a candidate for California chief justice.[23][24]
In 1961, Burke was awarded the St. Thomas More Award from the St. Thomas More Society.[25][26] In 1962, Burke was recognized by the Southern California Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration with The Earl Warren Outstanding Public Service Award.[27]
In 1933, Burke married Ruth Ann Horsfall (September 30, 1909 – October 10, 1997), and they had five children.[2][21] The family lived in Montebello next to Burke's brother and law partner, Martin, and their mother, Lucie.[28]
^"Judy Garland and Sid Luft Photo". Getty Images. May 18, 1952. Retrieved June 13, 2017. Judy Garland and her manager and boyfriend, Sid Luft, don't look too ill at ease, as they are pictured in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, minutes after an order for Miss Garland's arrest was issued by Judge Louis Burke.
^Breiner, Richard. "1977 MCBA President: Hon. Richard Breiner (Ret.)". Marin County Bar Association. Retrieved June 13, 2017. The Superior Court was fortunate to have the retired California Supreme Court Justice, Louis H. Burke, volunteer to sit and hear cases for many years.
^Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011: Montebello, California, City Directory, 1950, p 7, entries for Louis H. Burke (140 North 21st Street), Lucie D. Burke (148 North 21st Street), and Martin J. Burke (134 North 21st Street); compare same addresses, 1940 U.S. Census, Montebello, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T627_238; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 19-860, accessed via Ancestry.com.
Burke, Louis H. (Fall 1977). "Chief Justice Donald R. Wright"(PDF). Hastings Law Quarterly. 4 (4): 675–676. Archived from the original(PDF) on October 16, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
