Frederick Christian Struckmeyer Jr. (January 4, 1912 – June 22, 1992) was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Arizona The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justice ...

from January 3, 1955, to January 19, 1982. He served as chief justice of the court on four occasions.

Biography

Struckmeyer was the eldest son of Justice Frederick Christian "F.C." Struckmeyer, Sr., who served one term on the Superior Court in Maricopa County from 1923 to 1925, then as code commissioner. Struckmeyer received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and then a law degree in 1936 from

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. He went to work as a deputy Maricopa County attorney before serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

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 opposing ...

where he was awarded the Silver Star Bronze Star Medal and a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. He became a Superior Court judge in 1950. Five years later he was elected to the Arizona Supreme Court, where he served for 26 years. At 43, he was the youngest person ever elected or appointed to the Supreme Court. After his mandatory retirement at the age of 70 he was appointed to the Arizona Racing Commission. On February 9, 1953, Judge Struckmeyer decided the case
Phillips vs. Phoenix Union High Schools and Junior College District
', a case over Carver High School, the only legally segregated high school in the state. In the case, Struckmeyer ruled that the Arizona law permitting school boards to segregate pupils was unconstitutional, and the

Phoenix Union High School District The Phoenix Union High School District is a high school-only school district in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is one of five high school-only districts in the Phoenix area. Overview The school district serves students within a area of P ...

segregation of African-American students was illegal. "A half century of intolerance is enough," wrote Struckmeyer. The school board did not appeal. His decision was made a year before the Supreme Court of the United States decided

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

. In 1988, he rejoined the high court for
Green v. Osborne
', a 4–1 decision that canceled a recall election for

Evan Mecham Evan Mecham ( ; May 12, 1924 – February 21, 2008) was an American businessman and the 17th governor of Arizona, serving from January 5, 1987, until his impeachment conviction on April 4, 1988. A decorated veteran of World War II, Mecham was a ...

because Mecham already had been impeached and removed as governor.''Ex-Justice Fred Struckmeyer Dies'',

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

, June 22, 1982, B2. Judge Struckmeyer died in 1992 and was buried at the

National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, also known as Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Phoenix in Maricopa County, Arizona. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 43,672 interm ...

in Phoenix.

References

9. https://www.myazbar.org/AZAttorney/Archives/July98/7-98a5.htm

Biography

See also

References

Related reading