Who is Judge Hugh Means?

Judge Hugh Means was an active member of the legal community in Lawrence, KS in the early twentieth century.

Judge Means was born on July 27, 1871 on the family farm southeast of Lawrence in the Wakarusa township.  After receiving his law degree from the University of Kansas in 1895, he practiced in Lawrence until 1925 when he was elected Probate Judge. Judge Means went on to become District Court Judge for Douglas, Franklin, and Anderson Counties in 1929 and served until his retirement in 1953.

Even in retirement he continued to practice law and served as a reserve judge until his death in 1964. In the biography from the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Judge Hugh Means was known for "his high standards and impartiality". The biography quotes Judge Means regarding the requirements of serving in the judiciary:

"A judge lives in an atmosphere of semi-ostracism. He should be friendly with all members of the bar, but there should not be any intimacy with any one member of the bar. I have tried to preserve that attitude."

Biographical information about Judge Means from the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.