James C. Crumlish Jr. (May 5, 1920 – March 17, 1992) was an American attorney and politician. He served as the District Attorney of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1962 and 1966, and as a judge of the

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania is one of Pennsylvania's two intermediate appellate courts. The Commonwealth Court's headquarters is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with jurisdiction over administrative and civil public law. The Superior ...

from 1970 until his death.

Early life

He was born and raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. His father, James Sr., was a judge of the

Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas In Pennsylvania, the courts of common pleas are the trial courts of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (the state court system). The courts of common pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the state. The name derives fr ...

and was a recognized figure within the city's Democratic Party hierarchy. Crumlish attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, and was in the process of earning his J.D. from the

University of Pennsylvania School of Law The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League researc ...

when

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out. He joined the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, and served as a senior line officer aboard the battleship . He took part in eight major battles and achieved the rank of lieutenant commander when he was 25 years old.

Professional career

Crumlish returned to law school following the end of the war, and was admitted to the bar in 1949. He specialized in litigation while practicing general law, and in 1952, was appointed to the Philadelphia Registration Commission.

District attorney

Ten years after his appointment to the Registration Commission, he was appointed Philadelphia District Attorney. His appointment followed the ascension of incumbent District Attorney Victor Blanc to a judgeship. A political unknown, his appointment was attributed to his relationship with Fifth District

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

and Philadelphia Democratic Party Chairman Bill Green Jr. He was elected to the job in his own right in the 1961 election and developed a reputation as someone unafraid to take on judges, including his predecessor, Victor H. Blanc. Crumlish was, however, handily defeated for re-election in 1965 by future U.S. Senator

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...

. Though at the time a registered Democrat, Specter ran as a Republican, and campaigned against the perceived corruption of the city's Democratic establishment.

Judicial career

After his defeat, Crumlish briefly returned to private practice, but became politically active again in 1968 as a representative for regional activities for

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

James Tate. He ran for a judgeship in 1969 and lost, but was appointed in March 1970 to a seat on the newly created Commonwealth Court by Republican

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

Raymond P. Shafer. Voters chose to retain him on the court in the 1977 and 1987 judicial

retention election A retention election or retention referendum is a referendum where voters are asked if an office holder, usually a judge, should be allowed to continue in that office. The judge is removed from office if a majority of votes are cast against rete ...

s. Crumlish was elected the court's President Judge in 1980, following the death of James S. Bowman, and retired from the position in 1990, per court regulations. He served as a senior judge on the court from 1990 until his death.

Personal life

Upon his death in 1992, which followed a brief illness, Crumlish was survived by his wife, Rosemary, two sons, three daughters, five brothers, a sister and 11 grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crumlish Jr., James C. Pennsylvania Democrats 1920 births 1992 deaths Pennsylvania lawyers District attorneys of Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni 20th-century American lawyers