George Edwin Thompson (March 4, 1904 – September 3, 1973) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court and District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
George E. Thompson | |
|---|---|
| District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts | |
| In office 1945–1956 | |
| Preceded by | Robert F. Bradford |
| Succeeded by | Ephraim Martin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 4, 1904[1] Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | September 8, 1973 (aged 69) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Resting place | Wyoming Cemetery Melrose, Massachusetts, U.S.[2] |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Boston University School of Law |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Early life
editThompson was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and graduated from Lawrence High School in 1921. He graduated from the Boston University School of Law in 1924 and earned a master's degree from the school in 1925. He became a partner in the firm of Ely, Bradford, Thompson and Brown.[2]
District attorney
editIn 1940, Thompson became an assistant district attorney of Middlesex County.[2] In 1944, Thompson managed DA Robert F. Bradford's successful campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and was appointed to succeed Bradford as district attorney.[3][2] He was elected to full four-year terms in 1946, 1950, and 1954.[4] In 1951, he indicted Massachusetts Institute of Technology Dirk Jan Struik professor on charges of conspiracy to overthrow the governments of the United States and Massachusetts.[5] The indictment was quashed in 1956 by judge Paul G. Kirk after the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in a different case that the federal Smith Act superseded Massachusetts' sedition laws.[6]
Massachusetts Superior Court
editIn 1956, Thompson was appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court by Governor Christian Herter.[4] He remained on the bench until his death on September 3, 1973. He was 69 years old.[2]
References
edit- ^ "List of Superior Court Justices Since 1859". Massachusetts Law Quarterly. 44: 126. 1959.
- ^ a b c d e "Judge George Thompson of Mass. Superior Court". The Boston Globe. September 4, 1973.
- ^ Ainley, Leslie (November 12, 1944). "Shakeup in State Republican Leadership Likely to Follow Defeat". The Boston Globe.
- ^ a b "Thompson Named Superior Court Judge by Herter". The Boston Globe. January 10, 1956.
- ^ "Guilt in Plot Denied by M.I.T. Professor". The New York Times. September 15, 1951.
- ^ "Struik Suspension Lifted by M. I. T.; Status Unsettled". The Boston Globe. May 27, 1956.