Curtis Shake | |
|---|---|
 Judge Curtis Shake | |
| Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court | |
| In office January 4, 1938 – January 7, 1945 | |
| Nominated by | M. Clifford Townsend |
| Preceded by | Walter E. Treanor |
| Succeeded by | Frank E. Gilkison |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 14, 1887 Monroe City, Indiana, United States |
| Died | September 11, 1978 (aged 91) |
| Alma mater | Vincennes University Indiana University Bloomington |
Curtis Grover Shake (July 14, 1887 – September 11, 1978), was a jurist, politician, author, and a member of the Indiana Senate who served as a Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 4, 1938 to January 7, 1945, serving as Chief Justice three separate times (1939, 1941, and 1944). During his career, he was the presiding civilian judge over the IG Farben trial, one of the Nuremberg trials the United States convened at Nuremberg, Germany from 1947 to 1948 following World War II.
A native of Knox County, Indiana, Shake attended Vincennes University for two years and earned a law degree from Indiana University in 1910. He initially established a law practice in Bicknell, Indiana, but relocated his family and law practice to the county seat at Vincennes in 1916. Shake was elected as a Democrat to represent Knox and Daviess Counties in the Indiana Senate in 1926, but lost his bid to become Indiana Attorney General in 1928. Shake presided as a Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court for 7 years; refusing to run for re-election in 1945. Between 1938 and 1946, Shake was also involved at the national level in mediating labor disputes, including service on six presidential emergency boards charged with settling railroad strikes.
In 1947, Shake was appointed presiding judge over the Farben trial at Nuremberg. News reporters harshly criticized the relatively light sentences imposed on those found guilty of war crimes. Years later Shake remarked that although he accepted the legitimacy of the tribunals, he thought an impartial trial from neutral countries using neutral judges would have been preferable. After his return to the United States in 1948, Shake continued to practice law in Vincennes, where he was also a longtime member of Vincennes University's board of trustees from 1923 to 1966. Shake was elected to the Indiana Academy in 1975 for his contributions to Indiana and the nation.