John W. Fitzgerald | |
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58th Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court | |
In office 1982–1982 | |
Preceded by | Mary S. Coleman |
Succeeded by | G. Mennen Williams |
Associate Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court | |
In office 1973–1982 | |
Preceded by | Thomas E. Brennan |
Member of the
Michigan Senate from the 15th district | |
In office January 1, 1959 – December 31, 1964 | |
Preceded by | Donald E. Smith |
Succeeded by | Sander Levin |
Personal details | |
Born | Grand Ledge, Michigan | November 14, 1924
Died | July 7, 2006 St. Ignace, Michigan | (aged 81)
Political party | Republican |
Relations |
John Wesley Fitzgerald (grandfather) John W. Fitzgerald (grandson) |
Children | Frank M. Fitzgerald |
Parent |
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Alma mater |
University of Michigan Law School Michigan State University |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Battles/wars | World War II |
John Warner Fitzgerald (November 14, 1924–July 7, 2006) was an American lawyer, member of the Michigan Senate, and justice (and later chief justice) of the Michigan Supreme Court. [1] [2]
Fitzgerald was born in Grand Ledge, Michigan, on November 14, 1924. [1] [2] [3] He was born to a political family; he was the grandson of John Wesley Fitzgerald, a Michigan state representative from Eaton County (1895–96) and the son of Frank Dwight Fitzgerald, governor of Michigan from 1935 to 1936 and 1939, and Queena Warner Fitzgerald. [1] [2]
Fitzgerald graduated from Grand Ledge High School in 1942. [2] Fitzgerald served in the U.S. Army infantry during World War II. [1] [2] He received his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in 1947 and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1954. [1] [2] [3] He also studied at Princeton University and the University of Arizona. [2]
Fitzgerald was the legal counsel for the Michigan State Senate from 1955 until 1958. [2] In 1958, Fitzgerald was elected to the Michigan State Senate, where he served until 1962. [1] [2] [3]
Fitzgerald practiced in the law firm of Fitzgerald & Wirbel until he was elected to the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1964. [1] [2] [3] Governor William Milliken appointed Fitzgerald to a one-year term on the Michigan Supreme Court in 1973. [1] [2] Fitzgerald took his seat on January 1, 1974. [2] Fitzgerald was subsequently elected to a full eight-year term, and in his final year on the bench, in 1982, he was elected chief justice. [1]
Fitzgerald was a member of the original board of directors of Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and also taught as an adjunct, teaching the first property-law class there in 1983. [1] [2] He later resigned from the board to become a full-time professor of law there. [1] [2]
Fitzgerald died on July 7, 2006, at Mackinac Straits Hospital in St. Ignace, after a long illness, at age 81. [1] The Fitzgerald family has had a cottage on the Mackinac Island's East Bluff since 1961. [1]
Fitzgerald was a member of the First Congregational, United Church of Christ of Grand Ledge and the Little Stone Church, Union Congregational on Mackinac Island. [1] He was also a member of the Mackinac Island Yacht Club and a charter member of Mackinac Associates. [1]
Fitzgerald's papers are archived at the Bentley Historical Library of the University of Michigan. [3]