Born: Wednesday, January 21st, 1891
Died: Saturday, January 21st, 1950
Birthplace: Highland, Illinois
Education: Washington University, LL.B. (1912)
Career: Deputy Prosecutor (1917)
Served: Wednesday, September 23rd, 1931 to Thursday, December 1st, 1932
Political Party: Republican
Appointing Governor: Hartley (Republican)
Henry E. T. Herman was born in Highland, Illinois, about fifty miles east of St. Louis, Missouri, to Henry and Nettie (Todd) Herman. Herman received his early education at Smith Academy in St. Louis. After earning his bachelor of law degree from St. Louis’s Washington University in 1912, he moved to Spokane to pursue his profession. By 1917 the future judge had been appointed deputy prosecuting attorney of Spokane County. At the outbreak of the First World War, Herman enlisted, achieving the rank of first sergeant of the infantry as well as first sergeant of field artillery. Coincidentally, he served under the command of Captain Charles T. Donworth, who later would also have a seat on the state’s high bench. Upon returning to civilian life in 1918 Herman began an active private practice in partnership with Edward B. Powell.In later years an old friend remembered Herman in these words: he “was about 5 ’3″ and about as wide … was an excellent lawyer but still a character.” He was fairly active in county and state bar affairs and Republican politics. According to one newspaper account:
For a number of years, since before the first election of Governor [Roland] Hartley in 1924, Herman has been an outstanding supporter of the executive. He is classed by friends as a “wet”, having been credited with being a leader in the movement which gained an anti-prohibition expression at the Republican state convention.
When Judge Mark Fullerton died, Herman seemed a logical choice to fill the vacancy: his partisan credentials were impeccable, loyalty to the governor proven, legal ability unquestioned, and eastern Washington residence helpful, since Fullerton had also been from east of the Cascades. On September 23, 1931, Governor Hartley appointed Herman to the supreme court to complete the remaining year of Fullerton’s term. Judge Charles Donworth recalled Herman’s style:
His opinions reflect Judge Herman’s keen, analytical legal mind, and their brevity belie the labor with which they were prepared. The accurate and succinct statement of the legal problems involved in these cases and their sound solution should serve as models of judicial expression.
Judge Herman’s most notable opinion was in Baxter v. Ford Motor Co. It was a landmark case which has been referred to with approval by many courts of last resort. In this case, a manufacturer of an automobile was held responsible to the purchaser, who had bought the car from a dealer, because of a misrepresentation in the manufacturer’s advertising. This was the first decision in this country in which the rule was adopted.
While on the high bench Herman wrote sixty opinions for the court and five dissents.
On September 13, 1932, just a few days short of having served a year, Judge Herman faced a primary election challenge from fellow Spokanite Bruce Blake. Blake defeated Herman by more than 50,000 votes, largely because of the name familiarity Blake had developed over the years by appearing on the ballot in 1924 and in 1926.
Herman returned to Spokane and immediately regained prominence in the profession. His former partner, Richard S. Munter, recalled:
By reason of his exceptional ability, practically all of Judge Herman’s time during the last decade and a half of his life was used by members of the Spokane Bar associating him in the trials and appeals of difficult cases. In such work he was very happy.
Because of his mastery of epigrammatical expression and possession of a keen sense of humor, Judge Herman was in great demand at social events and as a banquet speaker. Always the gentleman, Governor Hartley once remarked that “Judge Herman knows more of what is in the Book of Etiquette than anyone I know.” One of the judge’s friends added: “and follows it less.” Although he expressed an interest in returning to the supreme court, he never again received appointment, and he actively practiced law until his death in 1950.
Judge Herman married Gladys Downing in August 1926 and they had two daughters, Nettie and Jane. The judge was a member of the Washington Athletic Club, Elks, Moose, Eagles, and Order of Redmen.
Selected References
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 23 Sept. 1931; Seattle Times, 23 Sept. 1931; memorial services, Washington Reports, vol. 36, 2d (1950), pp. xxxii-xxxvi.
The preceding biography is from Charles Sheldon's The Washington High Bench: A Biographical History of the State Supreme Court, 1889-1991, © 1992 by the Board of Regents of Washington State University. Reprinted here with permission and licensed to the public under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License by The Temple of Justice Project.
