Joseph Walter Bogdanski (November 12, 1911 – January 12, 1997)Nicole M. Malec, "J. Bogdanski, a former chief justice, dies", ''Hartford Courant'' (January 14, 1997), p. A3, A8. was an American college football player, lawyer, and judge. He served as an associate justice of 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 ...
from 1972 to 1981, and as chief justice for several months in 1981, and played football at Colgate, earning an All-American selection in 1934.
Career
Born in
New Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135.
Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wit ...
, Bogdanski graduated from
Vermont Academy
Vermont Academy (VA) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory, boarding and day school in Saxtons River, Vermont, serving students from ninth through twelfth grade, as well as postgraduates. Founded in 1876, the campus was listed on the ...
in 1931 and received his
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
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...
in 1935. While at Colgate, he also received various football scholarships and was named an All-American football player. He received an
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 the
University of Connecticut School of Law
The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. In ...
, cum laude, in 1940, and gained admission to the Connecticut bar that same year.
He entered private practice in 1940, and served as prosecuting attorney for the City Court of
Meriden, Connecticut
Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850. He then entered in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, remaining in service from 1943 to 1948, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant while serving on a
destroyer escort
Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.
Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
in the Atlantic theater. He was appointed Lieutenant Commander of the military staff of Governor
Chester Bowles
Chester Bliss Bowles (April 5, 1901 – May 25, 1986) was an American diplomat and ambassador, governor of Connecticut, congressman and co-founder of a major advertising agency, Benton & Bowles, now part of Publicis Groupe. Bowles is best known f ...
from 1949 to 1951, also serving during that time as a judge of that City Court of Meridan. He became a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1955.
In 1958, Governor
Abraham Ribicoff
Abraham Alexander Ribicoff (April 9, 1910 – February 22, 1998) was an American Democratic Party politician from the state of Connecticut. He represented Connecticut in the United States House of Representatives and Senate and was the 80th ...
appointed Bogdanski to the Connecticut Superior Court, and in 1972 Bogdanski was elevated to the state supreme court. Following his retirement from the court in 1981, he served as a senior judge in
New Haven County, Connecticut
New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's top 5 largest cities, New ...
, for a decade.
Bogdanski died in Meridan after a short illness at the age of 85.