Joseph James McFadden (May 3, 1916 – November 28, 1991) was chief justice of the
Idaho Supreme Court, and served on the court from 1959 to 1982.
Born in
Boise, Idaho, McFadden went to high school in
Hailey, did pre-law studies in
Pocatello, and attended the
University of Idaho College of Law in
Moscow for two years.
["Former state chief justice dies at 75", ''The Twin Falls Times-News'' (November 30, 1991), p. A-10.]
McFadden then became a
court reporter
A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine, thereby transforming the proceedings into an official certified transcript b ...
for judge Doran Sutphen of the Idaho 4th Judicial District, in
Gooding Gooding may refer to:
Places
* Gooding County, Idaho, a county in the United States
* Gooding, Colorado, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Gooding, Idaho, a city in the United States
** Gooding High School, located within the city
...
, under whom McFadden continued his legal studies, gaining
admission to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in Idaho in 1940.
He then entered the
practice of law in Hailey,
["Justice McFadden resigns", ''Twin Falls The Times-News" (June 4, 1982), p. A-5.] leaving for two years to serve in the military during
World War II, from 1944 to 1946.
After the war, McFadden returned to Hailey, and the following year, after the death of his father, was elected to the position his father had held of
Blaine County prosecutor.
In 1959, Governor
Robert E. Smylie
Robert Eben Smylie (October 31, 1914 – July 17, 2004) was an American politician and attorney from Idaho. A member of the Idaho Republican Party, he served as the 24th governor of Idaho for twelve years, from 1955 to 1967. He was the first Gov ...
appointed McFadden to the Idaho Supreme Court; the seat was vacated by the death of Chief Justice
James W. Porter.
McFadden was re-elected to the court in 1960, 1966, 1972,
["Idaho jurist is re-elected", ''Idaho Free Press'' (September 20, 1972), p. A1.] and 1978, then resigned from the court on August 31, 1982,
continuing to hear cases by designation until his death.
He died in a hospital in Boise.
References
1916 births
1991 deaths
Lawyers from Boise, Idaho
University of Idaho College of Law alumni
Justices of the Idaho Supreme Court
20th-century American judges
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