Charles Blakey "Charlie" Blackmar (April 22, 1922 – January 20, 2007) was a judge of the

Supreme Court of Missouri The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitution to gi ...

from 1982 to 1992, and chief justice of the court from 1989 to 1991. Blackmar was appointed to the court by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Kit Bond Christopher Samuel "Kit" Bond (born March 6, 1939) is an American attorney, politician and former United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, he defeated Democrat Harriett W ...

. Blackmar graduated from Southwest High School in Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated summa cum laude from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1942, where he was a politics major, won the John G. Buchanan Prize, was elected to

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, and was a member of Gateway Club. After graduating from Princeton, Blackmar enlisted in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, and served for four years in the

European Theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He served as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in the Seventh Army and earned a Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal, and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. After returning to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Blackmar graduated from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

. He practiced law in Kansas City until 1966, when he joined the faculty of the

St. Louis University School of Law Saint Louis University School of Law, also known as SLU LAW, is a private American law school located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is one of the professional graduate schools of Saint Louis University. The University hosted a law school briefly fro ...

. While a professor, Blackmar served as special assistant attorney general of

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and wrote books and articles.Charles Blakey Blackmar '42
" (April 18, 2007). ''Princeton Alumni Weekly''. Blackmar was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court, beginning his tenure on December 15, 1982. As a judge on the Missouri Supreme Court, he drew attention for his

dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

in the case of '' Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health'', which was later appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. Blackmar argued that decisions on medical treatment for incompetent family members are properly left where they historically have been made, to the family without interference from the state, and that "the very existence of capital punishment demonstrates a relativity of values by establishing the proposition that some lives are not worth preserving." Blackmar was chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court from July 1, 1989, to June 30, 1991. He retired from the court on April 1, 1992, and in retirement promoted

stem-cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...

and the abolition of

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. After he retired, he was cited by opponents of

John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...

's appointment to be Attorney General under then-President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

because of his accusation that Ashcroft "tamper dwith the judiciary."Bruce Shapiro, "Block Ashcroft -- II." ''The Nation''. Jan. 22, 2001. Blackmar married Ellen Day Bonnifield in 1943 and had five children and eight grandchildren. He died in

Belleair, Florida Belleair is a town in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 3,869. History Belleair traces its origins to 1896 as a planned resort town with the construction of the Belleview Hotel by railroa ...

, on January 20, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackmar, Charles Blakey Princeton University alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Missouri 2007 deaths 1922 births Recipients of the Silver Star 20th-century American judges People from Belleair, Florida Saint Louis University School of Law faculty United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army officers Judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri