| Order: | 79th |
| Office: | List of justices of the Michigan Supreme Court#Former JusticesJustice of the Michigan Supreme Court |
| Term Start: | 1964 |
| Term End: | 1973 |
| Term Start2: | December 1961 |
| Term End2: | December 31, 1962 |
| Predecessor2: | George Edwards, Jr. |
| Successor2: | Michael O'Hara |
| Order3: | 49th |
| Office3: | Michigan Attorney General |
| Term Start3: | January 1, 1958 |
| Term End3: | December 27, 1961 |
| Successor3: | Frank J. Kelley |
| Order4: | 200th |
| Office4: | Board of Regents of the University of MichiganRegent of the University of Michigan |
| Term Start4: | January 1, 1956 |
| Term End4: | 1957 |
| Successor4: | Donald N. D. Thurber |
| Term Start5: | 1938 |
| Term End5: | 1942 |
| Predecessor5: | George J. Laundy |
| Birth Name: | Paul Lincoln Adams |
| Birth Date: | 9 April 1908 |
| Birth Place: | Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Lansing, Michigan, U.S. |
| Education: | University of Michigan (BA, MA) University of Michigan Law School (LLB) |
| Mawards: | is not set --> |
| Awards: | is not set --> |
Paul Lincoln Adams (April 9, 1908 – November 23, 1990) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from Michigan.[1] He served as a mayor of Sault Ste. Marie, as a member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, as Michigan Attorney General, and as a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.[1]
Adams was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, on April 9, 1908.[1] His family had been farmers in the area since 1897, but by the early 1900s had shifted to insurance and real estate.[1] Adams graduated Sault High School in 1926. He received his B.A. in 1930 and M.A. in 1931 from the University of Michigan.[1] [2]
Adams returned to his family business for three years, then entered the University of Michigan Law School.[1] He earned his LL.B. in 1936 and was admitted to the bar the same year.[1] [2] While in law school, he became friends with G. Mennen Williams and others who became prominent in Michigan politics.[1] Also while in law school, Adams married Ruth Karpinski, daughter of the University of Michigan mathematician Louis Charles Karpinski.[1]
Adams returned to Sault Ste. Marie, where he practiced law and served in various civic roles.[1] [2] He was mayor from 1938 to 1942.[1] From 1941 to 1943, during World War II, he served as director of civil defense in Sault Ste. Marie.[1] From 1943 to 1944, Adams served with the Board of Economic Warfare in Washington, D.C.; he then returned to Sault Ste. Marie.[2] In 1949, Adams served as a member of the Michigan Social Welfare Commission. In 1950, he served as chair of the Sault Ste. Marie Charter Commission.[2]
In 1956, Adams was elected a member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents.[1] He served until the following year, when Governor G. Mennen Williams appointed to fill an unexpired term as Michigan Attorney General.[1] [2] Adams was elected twice as attorney general in his own right (in 1958 and 1960).[1] [2] He left the position after Governor John Swainson appointed Adams in December 1961 to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court.[1] [2] Adams left the court later that year but returned in 1964 and served on the court until his retirement in 1973.[1] Thereafter, he spent his time in Clinton County, Michigan, where he had orchards.[1] Adams died on November 23, 1990.[1] He was survived by his wife Ruth and four daughters.[1]
Adams' papers are archived at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan.[2]