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featureJohnWarner FitzgeraldAGreat Loss to the 1924 - 2006Cooley CommunityCooley Law School lost one of the founding membersof its academic family this year with the passing offormer Michigan Supreme Court Chief JusticeJohn Warner Fitzgerald on Friday, July 7, 2006.Justice Fitzgerald taught the very first class at the brandnew Thomas M. Cooley Law School on January 13,1973. He was a founding member of the Cooley Boardof Directors, a former state senator, and an originalmember of the Michigan Court of Appeals.Justice John W. Fitzgerald was born in Grand Ledge,Mich., on Nov. 24, 1924. His father was twice MichiganSecretary of State and twice governor of the state ofMichigan in the 1930s and his grandfather served in theMichigan legislature in the 1890s.Justice Fitzgerald graduated from Grand Ledge HighSchool in 1942, Michigan State University in 1947, andthe University of Michigan Law School in 1954. DuringWorld War II, Justice Fitzgerald served in the U.S.Army.Justice Fitzgerald met his wife, Lorabeth Moore ofHillsdale, while both were working at Michigan StateUniversity. They married June 6, 1953. The Fitzgeraldsraised three sons, Frank Moore, Eric Stiles, and AdamWarner.After graduating from law school, Justice Fitzgeraldwent to work as legal counsel for the Michigan Senate.In 1958, he was elected to the Senate. Justice Fitzgeraldpracticed law in the firm of Fitzgerald & Wirbel through1964, when he was elected to the first Michigan Courtof Appeals. He served on that court until his appointmentby Gov. William Milliken to the Michigan SupremeCourt in 1973 for a one-year term. He was subsequentlyelected to the Michigan Supreme Court to an eight-yearterm. In 1982, he was named as Chief Justice.For 34 years, Justice Fitzgerald was affiliated with theThomas M. Cooley Law School, first as a board memberand then as a professor of Property. At Cooley, classesare named for distinguished jurists. The class whichbegan its studies in September 2003 and graduated inSeptember 2006 was named for Justice Fitzgerald.Longtime friends and colleagues of Justice Fitzgeraldspoke out at his memorial service.Cooley Emeritus Professor Otto Stockmeyer first methim as a legislative intern in the summer of 1963 whenJustice Fitzgerald chaired the Michigan Senate Business6 BENCHMARK TRINITY 2006
“Committee. When Justice Fitzgerald was elected as oneof the original nine judges of the Court of Appeals in thefall of 1964, he took Professor Stockmeyer along as hisfirst law clerk. Years later they ended up teachingtogether at Cooley.“What I remember most about the 1964 election wasJohn’s amazing ability to generate press coverage,”Stockmeyer recalled. “Wherever he went, John wasable to generate a news story.”And the stories were all positive. “Throughout his life,John enjoyed a warm relationship with the press,”Stockmeyer recalled. “I cannot recall ever reading anegative article about him of anything he did or said.”Justice Fitzgerald inspired friendship and respect amongall those he met.Cooley Professor Ernest Phillips, who served as JusticeFitzgerald’s law clerk on both the Court of Appeals andthe Michigan Supreme Court, noted that his former bosswas a “man of considerable substance and uncommongrace.” He added that each of Justice Fitzgerald’s formerclerks at the service appreciated “the rare and wonderfulopportunity we had to learn from him … We learnednot only about the law, but how to treat people withcourtesy and respect … (how to) disagree without beingdisagreeable.”Phillips recalled that former Michigan Chief JusticeThomas Giles Kavanagh referred to Justice Fitzgerald as“a paragon of civility.”“We learned much from this gentle master,” Phillips saidof Justice Fitzgerald, “and for this we are grateful.”Phillips noted that Cooley President Don LeDuc characterizedJustice Fitzgerald as “a shining example of whateveryone in government service should be, settingunparalleled standards in professionalism and ethics.”Phillips also recalled the words of former Michigan ChiefJustice Thomas Brennan, founder of Cooley Law School.At Justice Fitzgerald’s Supreme Court RobingCeremony, Phillips said Justice Brennan described JusticeFitzgerald as “a gentle man, whose calm, pleasantdemeanor and good-humored wit would engender anambience of goodwill and collegiality, complementing hiskeen intellect and thoughtful judgment.”Justice Fitzgerald was known for his legal work as well.Recalled Stockmeyer, “John’s judicial opinions wereexquisitely crafted, as well as influential. No less thansix of his opinions, some written while on the Court ofAppeals and others as a Supreme Court Justice, werereprinted as leading opinions nationally by the editorsof American Law Reports.”Justice Fitzgerald was revered by both his colleaguesand students.“He was,” recalled Phillips, “without exception,universally loved and respected. Many of his formerstudents have told me, time and time again, of theirfondness and admiration for him. He was just awonderful colleague to have.”Justice Fitzgerald will be missed, Phillips said, but hisinspiration lives on.“His wit and optimism enabled him to view the world asa celebration to be enjoyed rather than an ordeal to beendured. We can all share his legacy by living our lives ashe did — by treating others the way we would like to betreated. We are better people and the world is a betterplace for Judge Fitzgerald’s having been with us.””“We can all share his legacy by living our lives as he did — by treatingothers the way we would like to be treated. We are better people andthe world is a better place for Judge Fitzgerald’s having been with us.”BENCHMARK TRINITY 20067
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