Lawson Harvey

Lawson Moreau Harvey (December 5, 1856 – June 25, 1920) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 1, 1917, to June 25, 1920.

Early life and education Harvey was born in Plainfield, Indiana, to a Quaker family. His father was Dr. Thomas B. Harvey, a prominent medical doctor originally from Harveysburg, Ohio who moved to Plainfield. The elder Harvey built up a large private practice in Indianapolis, was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to be the examining surgeon for Union soldiers in Indianapolis, and became a professor of children's and women's health at Indiana Medical College in Indianapolis. His mother was Delitha Butler, originally from Liberty, Indiana, noted for her involvement in many philanthropic organizations.

Harvey was educated in Indianapolis public schools and attended Indianapolis Classical School. He then attended Butler University (also in Indianapolis) and Haverford College (in Haverford, Pennsylvania). He received his legal education from Central Law School (in Indianapolis, now known as Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law), graduating in 1882.

Career Harvey began a private law practice in Indianapolis in 1886 (Ayres, Brown, & Harvey) before being elected judge of the Marion County Superior Court in 1894. Harvey was a Republican. He left the position in 1898 and returned to his private practice before briefly returning to the same bench in 1907, appointed by Governor J. Frank Hanly. His return to the Marion County Superior Court lasted only a year before he again returned to his private practice.

Harvey served on the court until 1920, when he died in office of a stroke.