Charles William Froessel (November 8, 1892 in

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– May 2, 1982 in

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) was an American lawyer and politician.

Early life

He was the son of Theodore Froessel and Barbara Froessel. He graduated

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 ...

in 1913, and LL.M. in 1914, from

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. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served in the

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with the rank of

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Career

He was Counsel to the Sheriff of Queens County from 1916 to 1920. He was Assistant District Attorney of Queens County from 1924 to 1930. On June 1, 1927, he married Elsie Stier (d. 1952). He was Special Assistant to the

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in charge of

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projects in

from 1935 to 1937. In January 1937, he was appointed a justice of the City Court in Queens County. In November 1937, he was elected to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

(2nd District). An active

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, Froessel served as Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York for two terms, 1944 and 1945. In

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

, he ran on the Democratic and

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tickets to the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

and was elected. In 1951 he wrote a concurring opinion on school prayer, arguing that non-sectarian school prayer was constitutional, whereas daily school prayer was un-constitutional. He retired from the bench at the end of 1962 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years.

Retirement and later life

In retirement, Froessel served on the board of trustees and as a dean at New York Law School. He died on May 2, 1982 at St. Vincent's Hospital (Manhattan).

Sources

''The History of the New York Court of Appeals, 1932-2003''
by Bernard S. Meyer, Burton C. Agata & Seth H. Agata (page 23)

Court of Appeals judges
''MRS. CHARLES FROESSEL''
His wife's obit in NYT on March 17, 1952 (subscription required) {{DEFAULTSORT:Froessel, Charles William Judges of the New York Court of Appeals 1892 births 1982 deaths American people of Dutch descent Lawyers from New York City Military personnel from New York City People from Queens, New York People from Brooklyn New York Supreme Court Justices New York Law School alumni United States Navy officers 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers