Gerald Frank Schroeder ^[1] (born September 13, 1939) is a former American attorney and jurist who served as chief justice of Idaho. He was appointed to the court in 1995 by Governor Phil Batt, ^[2] and was elected chief justice by his peers in 2004. ^[3] He served on the court for over a dozen years and retired in July 2007. ^[3]

Born in Boise, Idaho, Schroeder attended public schools in Caldwell, Idaho and Baker, Oregon, where he was salutatorian at Baker High School in 1957. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the College of Idaho in Caldwell in 1961, and initially planned on becoming a history professor. He took the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) on a whim and was accepted to Harvard Law School, earning his J.D. in 1964. ^[3]

After graduating from law school, Schroeder returned to Idaho and worked for several firms in Boise for three years. He was then appointed a deputy U.S. attorney in 1967, ^[4] became a county probate judge in 1969, and a magistrate two years later. He became a state judge in 1975 in the fourth district (Boise), a position he held for two decades, until his appointment to the state supreme court in January 1995. ^[3] Schroeder retained his seat in 1996 and 2002, running unopposed in both statewide elections. ^{[5] [6]}

As a district judge, Schroeder made headlines in 1987 as he ruled that the state lottery initiative, approved by voters the previous November, was unconstitutional. ^[7] His decision was upheld 4-1 by the state supreme court, ^[8] and resulted in an amendment to the state constitution. Voters approved that in November 1988, ^{[9] [10] [11]} and the lottery was launched in July 1989. ^[12]

Schroeder ordered the execution of double-murderer Keith Wells in 1992. Carried out in January 1994, it was Idaho's first execution in over 36 years and the tenth in state history. ^{[13] [14] [15]} He was among the officials that witnessed the execution by lethal injection at the Idaho State Correctional Institution. ^{[3] [14]}