G. Sarsfield Ford (September 6, 1933 – May 19, 2013) was an American jurist. Born in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

, Ford graduated from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

. He then received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and was admitted to the Connecticut Bar. He practiced law in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1973, he was appointed to the

Connecticut Superior Court The Connecticut Superior Court is the state trial court of general jurisdiction. It hears all matters other than those of original jurisdiction of the Probate Court, and hears appeals from the Probate Court. The Superior Court has 13 judicial distr ...

, and later held the office of Chief Administrative Judge for the Connecticut Judicial Marshal Services.

Early years

After graduating from St Patrick's School in 1951, Ford attended high school at

Fairfield College Preparatory School Fairfield College Preparatory School (Fairfield Prep) is a Jesuit preparatory school located on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. It is an all-male school of about 700 students, founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Following graduation from the

, he became a law graduate from the

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1958 and joined the Connecticut Bar in February 1959.

Career span

Ford worked for law firms like the Keogh and Candee in Norwalk and the Bridgeport law firm of Clancy and Kenney, also becoming a partner in the latter. 1962 saw his appointment to

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

in Fairfield County and Superior Court Judge in 1973, as designated by Governor

Thomas J. Meskill Thomas Joseph Meskill Jr. (January 30, 1928 – October 29, 2007) was a longtime United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He previously served as the List of Governor ...

. He became a Senior Judge in 2003. Judge Ford, reputed for his "fair but firm" justice, has been described as "Mr. Clean in a black robe".

Notable cases

* In 1967 Ford was assistant public defender for Harlis Miller, in a case that had national coverage. * In 1987 Ford presided over the trial of serial killer Michael Ross. The accounts of Karen Clarke of ''

The Day The Day may refer to: Film and television * ''The Day'' (1914 film), an Australian silent film * ''The Day'' (1960 film), a short film * ''The Day'' (2011 film), a Canadian film * ''The Day'' (2022 film), a Bangladeshi–Iran joint production ...

'' are stored at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford. * In 1997 Ford was the sole dissenter in the 11-1 censure vote of Harold H. Dean, at the time the state's most senior Superior Court judge. * In 2000 Ford presided on the Adrian Peeler case and also split Adrian Peeler's case from his brother Russell Peeler, due to evidence in the shooting of the witnesses. Ford also presided on the case against Russell Peeler who was found guilty of ordering two murders. Ford's imposition of a life sentence when the jury deadlocked on a decision on the

death penalty 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 ...

was later overturned in 2004 by the

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in ...

which ordered a new sentencing hearing after appeal by the prosecutors on the case. The conviction, itself, was upheld. At a new sentencing hearing in 2007, Russell Peeler was sentenced to death, and later, in 2016, became the second formerly condemned prisoner resentenced to life in prison after Connecticut abolished the death penalty for already sentenced prisoners in 2015. Said Ford at Russell Peeler's sentencing: ''He doesn't deserve any consideration. He cannot be expected to be rehabilitated and be put back on the street and stay away from the criminal element. ... I'd be a fool to expect that.'' * In 2001, Ford presided over an unusual incident where a not guilty verdict was delivered but the accused had fled the courthouse.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, G. Sarsfield 1933 births 2013 deaths Lawyers from Bridgeport, Connecticut University of Notre Dame alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni Connecticut state court judges 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers Judges of the Connecticut Superior Court