Charles Francis McDevitt (January 5, 1932 – May 29, 2021) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist. He was a justice of the
Idaho Supreme Court
The Idaho Supreme Court is the state supreme court of Idaho and is composed of the chief justice and four associate justices.
The decisions of the Idaho Supreme Court are binding on all other Idaho state courts. The only court that may reverse ...
from 1989 to 1997, serving as chief justice from 1993 to 1997.
Early life and education
Born and raised in
Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...
, McDevitt graduated from
Pocatello High School
Pocatello High School is a four-year public high school in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. It is the oldest of the three traditional high schools of the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District and serves the southwest portion. The school colors are ...
and attended
Idaho State College for a year. He transferred to the
University of Idaho in
Moscow, then served in the
U.S. Army for two years, returned to the U of I in 1954, and received his
LL.B
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degree from its
College of Law
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
in 1956.
["Boyle, McDevitt add experience to bench", '' The Times-News'' (August 8, 1989), p. B-4.]
Career
McDevitt practiced law in
Boise and was general counsel for
Boise Cascade from 1962 to 1968. In 1962, he was elected to the
Idaho House of Representatives and was re-elected in 1964. He left the legislature in 1966 to become president of Beck Industries in
New York City. He also worked as an executive at the
Singer Corporation
Singer Corporation is an American manufacturer of consumer sewing machines, first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac M. Singer with New York lawyer Edward C. Clark. Best known for its sewing machines, it was renamed Singer Ma ...
before returning to Boise, where he joined the
Ada County
Ada County is located in the southwestern part of Idaho, United States. As of the 2021 United States census estimate, the county had a population of 511,931, making it by far the state's most populous county; it is home to 26.8% of the state's p ...
Prosecutor's Office as a trial attorney.
In August 1989, McDevitt was appointed to the Idaho Supreme Court by Governor
Cecil Andrus; the seat was vacated by the death of
Allan Shepard in May.
Following his retirement from the court in 1997, McDevitt served on an ethics panel convened by the state legislature.
Death
McDevitt died in Boise in 2021 at the age of 89.
References
External links
National Recreation and Park Association– October 2021 tribute
Obituary
1932 births
2021 deaths
People from Pocatello, Idaho
University of Idaho College of Law alumni
Members of the Idaho House of Representatives
Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court
{{Idaho-state-judge-stub