Judge Robert E. Woodside was born on June 4, 1904, in Millersburg, Dauphin County. He attended Millersburg High School, Dickinson College, and Dickinson Law School, graduating in 1928. To fund his education, Judge Woodside worked as a senate page, mail carrier, and newspaper carrier.
Judge Woodside began his career in private practice in Harrisburg and Millersburg. Additionally, he spent nearly a decade serving in the Pennsylvania legislature. He spent his last two years in the legislature as the Republican Leader of the House of Representatives.
In 1942, Judge Woodside was elected to the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County. During his time on the court, he served as chairman on the Pennsylvania Council of Juvenile Court Judges. Decades later, he was honored for these efforts with the opening of the Robert E. Woodside Juvenile Detention Center in Swatara Township.
Starting in 1951, Judge Woodside served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania. He left this position two years later to join the Superior Court. Judge Woodside served in this position until 1964.
Over the course of his career, Judge Woodside established himself as an authority on Pennsylvania government and constitutional law. In 1959, he served as chairman of the Commission on Constitutional Revision, or the “Woodside Commission,” which recommended structural changes to the state government.
Other positions held by Judge Woodside included: Secretary of the Joint State Government Commission, Commissioner on Uniform State Laws, and Trustee and Adjunct Professor of law at Dickinson Law School. Woodside was also a published author, having written Pennsylvania Constitutional Law, which remains an influential text today. Additionally, he authored My Life and Town, where he affectionately describes his life spent in Millersburg, Pennsylvania. Judge Woodside passed away on March 18, 1998, at 93 years old.