James Martin Fitzgerald (October 7, 1920 – April 3, 2011) was an American lawyer and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. He served as an associate justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 1972 to 1975, and resigned that position when he was appointed to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska.

Education and career

Born on October 7, 1920, in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon, Fitzgerald was a private in the United States Army from 1940 to 1941. He was a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps from 1942 to 1946. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950 from Willamette University. He received a Bachelor of Laws in 1951 from Willamette University College of Law. He was an assistant United States attorney for the Alaska Territory district from 1952 to 1956. He was the city attorney for

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

, Alaska from 1956 to 1959. He was legal counsel for Governor

William A. Egan William Allen Egan (October 8, 1914 – May 6, 1984) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the first governor of the State of Alaska from January 3, 1959 to 1966 and 1970 to 1974, as well as a shadow U.S. Senator from Alaska Terri ...

in 1959. He was the commissioner of public safety for the State of Alaska in 1959. He was a judge of the Third Judicial District of the

Alaska Superior Court The Alaska Court System is the unified, centrally administered, and totally state-funded judicial system for the state of Alaska. The Alaska District Courts are the primary misdemeanor trial courts, the Alaska Superior Courts are the primary felony ...

from 1959 to 1972, serving as presiding judge from 1969 to 1972. He was a justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 1972 to 1975.

Federal judicial service

On December 2, 1974, Fitzgerald was nominated by President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

to be a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska, to a seat vacated by Judge

Raymond Eugene Plummer Raymond Eugene Plummer (March 27, 1913 – December 26, 1987) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. Early life and education Born in Harlan, Iowa, Plummer ...

. Fitzgerald was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 18, 1974, and received his commission on December 20, 1974. He served as chief judge from 1984 to 1989 and assumed senior status on January 1, 1989. He stopped hearing cases in 2006, but remained in inactive senior status until his death on April 3, 2011, in Santa Rosa, California.

References

External links

*
''Willamette Lawyer''
Fall 2004 issue of the '' Willamette Lawyer'' magazine, in which numerous Alaskans are profiled, including Fitzgerald. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, James Martin 1920 births 2011 deaths Alaska state court judges Justices of the Alaska Supreme Court Assistant United States Attorneys Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska Lawyers from Portland, Oregon Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska People from Santa Rosa, California Superior court judges in the United States United States Army soldiers United States district court judges appointed by Gerald Ford 20th-century American judges United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Willamette University alumni Willamette University College of Law alumni Lawyers from Anchorage, Alaska