Francis Bergan (April 20, 1902

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

– March 23, 1998 Albany, NY) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

He was the son of Michael Bergan and Mary Bergan. He was educated at the New York State College for Teachers. Then he worked as a court reporter for the ''

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'', and studied law. 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 ...

from

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at Al ...

in 1923, and was admitted to the bar in 1924. He was elected to the Albany City Court in 1929, and to the Albany Police Court in 1933. In 1935, he was elected to the New York Supreme Court (3rd District), and re-elected in 1949. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1938. While sitting on the Supreme Court, he attended night classes at Siena College and graduated

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1946. Two years later, Siena conferred an

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

on him. He sat on the Appellate Division (3rd Dept.) from 1949 to 1963. He was Presiding Justice from 1960 on. In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, he was elected unopposed to the New York Court of Appeals. He was a delegate to the

of 1967, and was Chairman of the Committee on Education. In 1970, he wrote the opinion which was the court's decision in '' Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co.'' He retired from the bench at the end of 1972 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years. Afterwards he published many writings on legal issues and the State court system, among them ''The History of the New York Court of Appeals 1847-1932'' (

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Press, 1985). He died at the Teresian House, a nursing home in Albany.

Sources

''The History of the New York Court of Appeals, 1932-2003''
by Bernard S. Meyer, Burton C. Agata & Seth H. Agata (pages 25f)

Court of Appeals judges

History of the Third Department, with portrait (page 27)
''Francis Bergan, 95, Ex-Judge; Shaped New York's Constitution''
in NYT on April 13, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergan, Francis Judges of the New York Court of Appeals 1902 births 1998 deaths Albany Law School alumni Politicians from Albany, New York New York Supreme Court Justices County district attorneys in New York (state) Siena College alumni 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges Lawyers from Albany, New York Presiding Justices of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department justices