Matthew Joseph Jasen (December 13, 1915 – February 4, 2006) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, he was the son of Joseph J. Jasen and Celine (Perlinski) Jasen. He graduated from

Canisius College Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's ...

, and

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

University at Buffalo Law School The University at Buffalo School of Law (also known as State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, or SUNY Buffalo Law School) is a graduate professional school at the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1887 and affiliate with Niagara Univ ...

, and was admitted to the bar in 1940. He married Anastasia Gawinski (d. 1970), and they had four children. He took a special wartime course at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

's Civil Affairs Training School, and during the later part of

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 ...

, was a Military Government Officer in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. After the war, he was President of the Security Review Board for

Württemberg-Baden Württemberg-Baden was a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was created in 1945 by the United States occupation forces, after the previous states of Baden and Württemberg had been split up between the US and French occupation zones. I ...

, and from 1946 to 1948 President of the Third Military Government Judicial District of Occupied Germany, with seat at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. Afterwards he returned to Buffalo and practiced law. In 1957, he was appointed by Governor

W. Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...

to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

(8th District) to fill a vacancy. In November 1957, he was elected to a fourteen-year term. In

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, he was elected unopposed to the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

. In 1978, his was one of the seven names on the list submitted to Governor

Hugh L. Carey Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He was a seven-term U.S. representative from 1961 to 1974 and the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He was a member of the Democratic Party. ...

from which to choose the new

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

, but

Lawrence H. Cooke Lawrence Henry Cooke (October 15, 1914, Monticello, Sullivan County, New York – August 17, 2000, Monticello, Sullivan Co., NY) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1979 ...

was selected. He retired from the Court of Appeals at the end of 1985 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years. Jasen died on February 6, 2006, in

Orchard Park, New York Orchard Park is a town in Erie County, New York. It is an outer ring suburb southeast of Buffalo. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,054, representing an increase of 5.13% from the 2000 census figure. The town contains a village als ...

.http://www.inheritage.org/content/hscny/legal-history-new-york/luminaries-court-appeals/jasen-matthew.html

References

''The History of the New York Court of Appeals, 1932-2003''
by Bernard S. Meyer, Burton C. Agata & Seth H. Agata (pages 26f)
Court of Appeals judges

External links

Bio on his official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Jasen, Matthew J 1915 births 2006 deaths Judges of the New York Court of Appeals Canisius University alumni University at Buffalo alumni Harvard University alumni Lawyers from Buffalo, New York New York Supreme Court Justices 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers