Levine's parents were Morris and Dora Levine, Eastern European Jewish immigrants,[1][2] who had begun a tailoring business in 1905, which eventually grew to a department store called the Levine Boston Store with locations in several cities.[3]
Levine enrolled at the University of Michigan and, as an ROTC member, was commissioned to serve in the United States Army during World War I,[4] but was never sent overseas as the war ended in an Armistice less than a week before his scheduled deployment date.[3] He then received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1920, and an J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1921.[2] Levine entered the practice of law in La Porte, Indiana,[1][2][3] and also maintained an active role in the American Legion, holding several offices in that organization including Third District Commander of the American Legion, commander of the Hamon Gray Post in LaPorte, and, from 1935 to 1943, member of the National Executive Committee.[4]
In January 1955, Governor George N. Craig appointed Levine a seat on the Indiana Supreme Court vacated by the resignation of Floyd S. Draper.[2] It was understood that Levine and fellow appointee George Henley would only serve for a few months, and then resign in favor of more permanent appointees.[2] Nevertheless, Levine was the first Jewish justice on the Indiana Supreme Court.[1][3] In 1958, Levine became president of the family department store business,[1] continuing in that role, and in the practice of law, until his death.
References
^ abcdDonald B. Kite Sr., "Isadore E. Levine", in Linda C. Gugin, James E. St. Clair, editors, Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court (2012), p. 339-340.
