Willard Bartlett (October 14, 1846 – January 17, 1925) was an American jurist. He was

Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals refers to the position of chief judge on the New York Court of Appeals. They are also known as the Chief Judge of New York. The chief judge supervises the seven-judge Court of Appeals. In addition, th ...

Biography

Bartlett was born in

Uxbridge, Massachusetts Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts first colonized in 1662 and incorporated in 1727. It was originally part of the town of Mendon, MA, Mendon, and named for the Marquess of Anglesey, Earl of Uxbridge. The town is located south ...

, the son of William Osborne Bartlett and Agnes E. H. Willard. His brother was Congressman Franklin Bartlett. He attended Columbia College, graduating with a B.A. While there, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (aka

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the Calendar of saints, feast day of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony the Great. The frater ...

). He then received a

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

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1868. He practiced law in partnership with

Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...

from 1869 until his election to the bench. On October 26, 1870, he married Mary Fairbanks Buffum. From 1871 to 1873, he was a

drama critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

for the old ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'', and later wrote editorials on legal topics and book reviews for this paper. He was a justice of 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 ...

(2nd D.) from 1884 to 1907. From 1887 on, he sat on the General Term (First Dept.) and, after the re-organization of the court system by the State Constitution of 1894, on the Appellate Division, 2nd Dept. from 1896 to 1907. In January 1906, he was designated to the Court of Appeals under the Amendment of 1899. In November 1907, he was elected on the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and Democratic tickets to a 14-year term as judge of 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 ...

, and was Chief Judge from 1914 to 1916, elected in November 1913 on the Democratic ticket. He retired from the bench when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years, and resumed his law practice with

. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1918. Bartlett died in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

aged 78. He was buried at the Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn.

References

Political Graveyard
in NYT on January 18, 1925 (subscription required)
The election result
in NYT on November 15, 1913
Nominated by both parties
in NYT on October 5, 1907

with portrait {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Willard 1846 births 1925 deaths Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Chief Judges of the New York Court of Appeals Columbia College (New York) alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences General Society of Colonial Wars Journalists from New York (state) Lawyers from Brooklyn New York Supreme Court Justices New York University School of Law alumni People from Uxbridge, Massachusetts Writers from Brooklyn 19th-century American lawyers St. Anthony Hall