Rush Elmore

Rush Elmore (February 27, 1819 - August 14, 1864) was an American attorney and jurist who served as an associate judge of the Supreme Court of the Kansas Territory.

Early life
Elmore was born in Autauga County, Alabama, on February 27, 1819. His father, John Archer Elmore, was a soldier in the American Revolution who served under General Nathanael Greene. He became an attorney in private practice in Montgomery, Alabama after studying at the University of Alabama. In May 1846, at the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, Elmore raised a company and became its captain. After the war, he returned to Montgomery to continue his private practice.

Career
In 1854, Elmore was appointed by President Franklin Pierce to become an associate judge of the newly formed Supreme Court of the Kansas Territory. Elmore, along with chief judge Samuel Dexter Lecompte and associate judge Sanders W. Johnston, were all appointed as pro-slavery sympathizers.

In 1855, Pierce removed Elmore, Johnston, and then-Governor Andrew Horatio Reeder after accusations were made against them for illegally purchasing Native American land. Elmore was replaced by judge Sterling G. Cato. However, these accusations were later proven false, and Elmore was repromoted by President James Buchanan in 1858 upon Cato's resignation.

In 1857, Elmore helped draft the Lecompton Constitution and advocated for its submission to the people of Kansas for approval.

Later life and death
Elmore left the Court in 1860, upon Kansas' admission into the Union. Although he was a slaveowner and a supporter of slavery in Kansas, he disagreed with secession and remained loyal to the United States. He continued private practice as an attorney in Topeka, Kansas, until his death there on August 19, 1864.