Robert Emmett McCarthyUnited States Military Academy Official register of the officers and cadets (1971) /ref> (January 12, 1940 – January 15, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
.
Education
McCarthy attended the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
from 1957 to 1961 and graduated with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree.Martindale-Hubbell Online Directory /ref> He graduated from
Boston College Law School
Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College, a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It is situated on a campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about from the university's main campus in Chestn ...
with a
Bachelor of Laws
A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
. From 1962 to 1963, he served with the 503rd and 325th Airborne Infantry Regiments of the
82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...
. He resigned his commission in 1964 as a
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...
.
Legal career
McCarthy practiced law in
East Bridgewater, Massachusetts
East Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,440 at the 2020 census. It is also a part of Massachusetts' 8th congressional district, of which it is represented by Stephen Lynch.
History
The ...
, after graduating from law school.
Political career
From 1969 to 1975, McCarthy served on the East Bridgewater Board of Selectmen. From 1971 to 1975, he served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives representing the 8th Plymouth district as a Democrat. From 1975 to 1981, he served in the Massachusetts Senate representing the Bristol, Plymouth and Norfolk districts (1975–1879) and the 2nd Plymouth district (1979–1881). He was also an unsuccessful candidate for the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
seat in
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
Massachusetts's 10th congressional district is an obsolete district that was active during 1795–2013. It was first located in the District of Maine during 1795–1803, then located in several different areas of Massachusetts. It was most rece ...
in 1980.
From 2001 to 2015, he served as Register of Probate for
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, south of Boston. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 530,819. Its county seats are Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth and ...