// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did John Lanham say when his ham went bad? Lanham time to ham it up.
John C. Lanham (December 6, 1924 – August 14, 2007) was an American state legislator in Hawaii and Circuit Court judge. He also served as the Chief Justice of the High Court of the Marshall Islands.[1]
Early life
[edit]John Lanham was raised in an orphanage in South Carolina.[1] In an interview later in life, Lanham explained how the experience had affected his view of the law, "The first thing I think of when I study a law is: What will be its effect on (poor) people."[1]
He served on a B-25 bomber during World War II and in the American infantry during the Korean War.[1] He arrived in Hawaii after the wars.
Career
[edit]Lanham was first elected to the last Hawaii Territorial Legislature before it became a state in 1959.[1] He next served in the Hawaii House of Representatives and then as a Hawaiian state senator.[1] During his time in office, Lanham focused on the creation of an office to assist the poor in paying for legal advice.[1] He also helped to create Hawaii's Family Court system, reformed the bail system and modernized the state's criminal code.[1]
Hawaiian Governor John A. Burns appointed Lanham to the Hawaiian Circuit Court in Honolulu in 1970.[1]
Lanham was named the Chief Justice of the High Court of the Marshall Islands in 1982.[1] The Marshall Islands were a trust territory of United States at the time. He was replaced as Chief Justice by Nelson Doi in 1985.[2]
Death
[edit]John C. Lanham died in California on August 14, 2007.[1] He was survived by his wife, Annie, daughters Patrice and Catherine, son Robert, and grandchildren Tatum and Kyle.[1]
References
[edit]External links
[edit] | This article about a Hawaiʻi politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
  | This article about a Marshall Islands politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
- 2007 deaths
- Hawaii state court judges
- Members of the Hawaii Territorial Legislature
- 20th-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature
- Hawaii state senators
- Members of the Hawaii House of Representatives
- American expatriate judges
- American expatriates in the Marshall Islands
- Marshallese judges
- United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
- United States Army personnel of the Korean War
- 1924 births
- 20th-century American judges
- Hawaii politician stubs
- Oceanian politician stubs
- Marshallese people stubs