James L. Morse (September 11, 1940 – January 13, 2023) was an American jurist who was an associate justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The Court ...

from 1988 to 2003. Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

,Mary L. Bliss, Ruth A. Kennedy, Diana R. Irvine, ''The American Bench'' (2000), p. 2443. Morse received an

A.B. 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 years ...

from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1962, and served in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

from 1963 to 1966. He received a J.D. from

Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...

in 1969, graduating magna cum laude and serving as

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the

Boston University Law Review Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States an ...

from 1967 to 1969. He served as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

to Judge

Sterry R. Waterman Sterry Robinson Waterman (June 12, 1901 – February 6, 1984) was a Vermont lawyer and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Early life Waterman was born in Taunton, Massachusetts on June 12 ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...

from 1969 to 1970, and then entered private practice in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. From 1981 to 1988, Morse was a judge of the

Vermont Superior Court The Judiciary of Vermont is the state court system of Vermont, charged with Vermont law. Vermont Constitution The Vermont courts are established in the Vermont Constitution in sections 28-41 (Judiciary Department). The justices of the Vermont S ...

1981–88. On September 23, 1988, Morse was appointed to the state supreme court by Governor

Madeleine Kunin Madeleine Kunin (née May; born September 28, 1933) is a Swiss-born American diplomat, author and politician. She served as the 77th governor of Vermont from 1985 until 1991, as a member of the Democratic Party. She also served as United States ...

, following the death of Thomas L. Hayes, and the failure of the state senate to confirm Frank G. Mahady to the seat. On January 16, 2003, Morse resigned from the court to become Commissioner of the Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services. Morse died on January 13, 2023, at the age of 82.Former Vermont Supreme Court Justice James L. Morse Passes Away at 82

References

1940 births 2023 deaths Justices of the Vermont Supreme Court Dartmouth College alumni Boston University School of Law alumni Lawyers from New York City Military personnel from New York City {{US-state-judge-stub

See also

References