Poindexter, Joseph Boyd, 1869-1951

Hawaii territorial judge and governor.

Joseph Boyd Poindexter was born in Canyon City, Or., in 1869. He attended public schools in Montana, and later earned a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. He returned to Montana to practice law in Dillon, and held various public offices in Montana from 1897 to 1917. In 1917 Poindexter was appointed by Pres. Woodrow Wilson to serve as judge for the U.S. District Court of Hawaii, a position he held until 1924 when he returned to the private practice of law. In Jan. 1934 Pres. Franklin Roosevelt appointed Poindexter governor of Hawaii. He was reappointed in 1938. Poindexter was governor at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Dec. 1941, and signed the controversial proclamation that placed Hawaii under martial law. Poindexter was not reappointed in 1942 and returned to his law practice. He died on 3 Dec. 1951.