L. B. Day (judge)

L. B. Day (February 3, 1889 – November 22, 1938)^[1] was a justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court from 1929 until his death in 1938.

Career

Born in Westboro, Missouri, Day attended the public schools of Albion, Nebraska, and received a law degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska in 1914.^[1] He engaged in private practice until 1920, when he was elected as a Nebraska district judge at the age of 31, serving from 1922 to 1928 "on the domestic relations bench where he gained a reputation as an authority on marriage and divorce".^[1] On one occasion, faced with a defendant who had repeatedly been brought before the court as a wife-beater, he threatened to come down from the bench and fight the defendant.^[1]

In 1928, Day defeated recently appointed incumbent Francis S. Howell to be elected to the Nebraska Supreme Court, and was reelected in 1934 to a term scheduled to expire in 1940.^[1]

Personal life and death

Day's initials, "L. B.", were reportedly his full name, and not an abbreviation.^[1] He married and had three sons, one of whom was also named L. B. Day, and became a prominent labor leader. Day died from complications following a bout of pneumonia, at the age of 49.^[1]