# James Martin Fitzgerald

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**James Martin Fitzgerald** (October 7, 1920[1][2] – April 3, 2011[3][4][5]) was an American lawyer and [judge](/source/Judge). He served as an associate justice of the [Alaska Supreme Court](/source/Alaska_Supreme_Court) from 1972 to 1975, and resigned that position when he was appointed to serve as a [United States district judge](/source/United_States_federal_judge) of the [United States District Court for the District of Alaska](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Alaska).

## Education and career

Born on October 7, 1920, in [Portland, Oregon](/source/Portland,_Oregon), Fitzgerald was a private in the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) from 1940 to 1941. He was a sergeant in the [United States Marine Corps](/source/United_States_Marine_Corps) from 1942 to 1946. He received a [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) degree in 1950 from [Willamette University](/source/Willamette_University) in [Salem, Oregon](/source/Salem,_Oregon). He received a [Bachelor of Laws](/source/Bachelor_of_Laws) in 1951 from [Willamette University College of Law](/source/Willamette_University_College_of_Law). He was an assistant [United States attorney](/source/United_States_Attorney) for the [Alaska Territory](/source/Territory_of_Alaska) district from 1952 to 1956. He was the city attorney for [Anchorage, Alaska](/source/Anchorage,_Alaska) from 1956 to 1959. He was legal counsel for [Governor William A. Egan](/source/William_A._Egan) in 1959. Fitzgerald was the commissioner of public safety for the state of Alaska in 1959. He was a judge of the Third Judicial District of the [Alaska Superior Court](/source/Judiciary_of_Alaska) from 1959 to 1972, serving as presiding judge from 1969 to 1972. He was a justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 1972 to 1975.[6]

## Federal judicial service

On December 2, 1974, Fitzgerald was nominated by [President Gerald Ford](/source/Gerald_Ford) to be a judge of the [United States District Court for the District of Alaska](/source/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Alaska), to a seat vacated by Judge [Raymond Eugene Plummer](/source/Raymond_Eugene_Plummer). Fitzgerald was confirmed by the [United States Senate](/source/United_States_Senate) on December 18, 1974 and received his commission on December 20, 1974. He served as chief judge from 1984 to 1989 and assumed [senior status](/source/Senior_status) on January 1, 1989. He stopped hearing cases in 2006, but remained in inactive senior status until his death on April 3, 2011, in [Santa Rosa, California](/source/Santa_Rosa,_California).[6]

## References

1. Atwood, Evangeline & DeArmond, Robert N. (1977). *Who's Who in Alaskan Politics*. [Portland](/source/Portland,_Oregon): [Binford & Mort](/source/Binford_%26_Mort) for the Alaska Historical Commission. p. 30.

1. "Alaska Court System". *Alaska Blue Book*. First ed. [Juneau](/source/Juneau): [Alaska Department of Education](/source/Alaska_Department_of_Education_%26_Early_Development), [Division of State Libraries](/source/Alaska_State_Library). 1973. p. 98.

1. ["R.I.P. Judge James M. Fitzgerald, 1920-2011"](https://wickershamsconscience.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/r-i-p-judge-james-m-singleton-1920-2011/) (https). *[Wickersham](/source/James_Wickersham)'s Conscience*. wordpress.com. April 5, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2011.

1. ["James Fitzgerald Obituary"](http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/adn/obituary.aspx?n=james-fitzgerald&pid=150112077). *[Anchorage Daily News](/source/Anchorage_Daily_News)*. legacy.com. April 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2011.

1. Staff report (April 6, 2011). ["Retired Alaska judge dies in California"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110420031735/http://www.adn.com/2011/04/05/1794557/retired-alaska-judge-dies-in-california.html). *Anchorage Daily News*. [Anchorage](/source/Anchorage): [The McClatchy Company](/source/The_McClatchy_Company). p. A7. Archived from [the original](http://www.adn.com/2011/04/05/1794557/retired-alaska-judge-dies-in-california.html) on April 20, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2011.

## External links

- *[Willamette Lawyer](https://web.archive.org/web/20150709184544/willamette.edu/wucl/pdf/lawyer/fall2004.pdf)* Fall 2004 issue of the *[Willamette Lawyer](/source/Willamette_University_College_of_Law)* magazine profiling Fitzgerald and other Alaskans (Archived)

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