Louis Sulzbacher

Louis Sulzbacher
Judge for the Western District of the United States Court for the Indian Territory
In office 1904 – November 16, 1907
Appointed by	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position disestablished
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
In office August 1900 – 1904
Appointed by	William McKinley
Preceded by	Juan Morera Martínez
Succeeded by	Adolph Grant Wolf
Personal details
Born	(1842-05-10)May 10, 1842 Kirchheimbolanden, Kingdom of Bavaria
Died	January 17, 1915(1915-01-17) (aged 72) New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American

Louis Sulzbacher (May 10, 1842 – January 17, 1915) was the first continental American appointed as Associate Justice of the newly created Supreme Court of Puerto Rico in 1900. Appointed by President William McKinley he assumed his post in August 1900 and served until 1904.

Early life and family

Louis M. Sulzbacher was born in Kirchheimbolanden, Kingdom of Bavaria on May 10, 1842, to Jacob Sulzbacher and Regina Schwarz. Jacob was a professor and writer for several newspapers, while Regina was German language scholar educated in Paris. The Sulzbacher family was Jewish and claimed descendancy from Saul Wahl and Rashi. He studied in Frankfurt and was fluent in English, German, Greek, Spanish, French and Latin.^[1]

Move to United States

He moved to the United States in 1859 and settled in New Mexico Territory where he read the law.^[2] In 1870, he was admitted to the territorial bar before starting a law practice in Las Vegas.^[3] He married Paulina Flersheim in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1869. During the Spanish-American War he served in the Rough Riders.^[2]

In 1900, President William McKinley appointed Sulzbacher, who was fluent in Spanish, as one of the first judges of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.^[3] He served on that court until his appointment to the United States Court for the Indian Territory's Western District in 1904 by Theodore Roosevelt. He left the bench upon statehood on November 16, 1907.^[2]

Sulzbacher practiced law in Kansas City after leaving the bench.^[2] He died in New York on January 17, 1915.^[4] He was buried in Kansas City.^[2] After his death he was honored by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico in a Memorial Resolution on January 29, 1915.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. Kraines, Oscar (1951). "Louis Sulzbacher: Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, 1900-1904". Jewish Social Studies. 13 (2): 127–132. ISSN 0021-6704. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
2. Creel, Von Russell (November 12, 2015). "Sulzbacher, Louis M. (1842–1915.)". okhistory.org. The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
3. Creel, Von Russell (Summer 2008). "Fifteen Men in Ermine: Judges of the United States Court for the Indian Territory, 1889-1907" (PDF). Chronicles of Oklahoma. 86 (2): 158–185. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
4. "Judge Louis Sulzbacher Dead". The Evening Star. Kansas City. January 18, 1915. p. 2. Retrieved March 2, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading

• La Justicia en sus Manos by Luis Rafael Rivera, 2007, ISBN 1-57581-884-1

Preceded by Juan Morera Martínez

Associate Justice to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico 1900–1904

Succeeded by Adolph Grant Wolf