Howard L. Bickley

Howard Lee Bickley (May 3, 1871 – March 4, 1947) was an American lawyer and judge. Originally from Missouri, he relocated to New Mexico and became chief justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court.

Life and career Bickley was born in Mexico, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1895, and then returned to Mexico to practice law. He was elected prosecuting attorney for Audrain County on the Democratic ticket. He was re-elected in 1932 and 1940. He administered the oath of office to four governors.

In both 1930 when Edward Terry Sanford died, and in 1932 when Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. retired from the Supreme Court of the United States, Bickley was on President Herbert Hoover’s list of possible replacements, although the seats ultimately went to Owen J. Roberts and Benjamin N. Cardozo.

Bickley died of a sudden heart attack in his home in Santa Fe the night of March 4, 1947. State offices were closed the same day for an hour and a half in his memory. He was buried in Fairmont Cemetery in Raton, next to his wife.

Personal life He married Ruth K. Phillips in 1897 in Mexico, Missouri; Ruth died in 1910 and he did not remarry. They had one daughter, Frances.