Benjamin B. Cunningham (April 1, 1874CUNNINGHAM, Benjamin B.
in ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

'' (14th edition, 1926); p. 543– January 2, 1946),Death Takes Cunningham, Ex-Justice, 71
, ''

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving the greater Rochester, New York, area. Headquartered at 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's ...

'' (January 3, 1946), p. 13, 17. was a long-serving New York state court judge who "in a 47-year public career initiated, fought for or passed upon legal questions of lasting importance to official Rochester". Born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, Cunningham graduated from the

Rochester Free Academy The Rochester Free Academy is a former secondary school and historic building (1872–1873) in Rochester, New York. It is part of the City Hall Historic District. History The Free Academy was founded by the Board of Education in 1853 and opened ...

in 1892, studied law in the office of William Butler Crittenden, and gained

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1895. From 1898 to 1916 he was employed by the

Corporation Counsel The corporation counsel is the title given to the chief legal officer who handles civil claims against the city in some U.S. municipal and county jurisdictions, including negotiating settlements and defending the city when it is sued. Most corp ...

of Rochester, holding the posts of Managing Clerk, Assistant City Attorney, and City attorney in succession. He was elected Corporation Counsel in 1915, holding office from 1916 to the close of 1919, during which period he put in a year as President of the Rochester Bar Association. In his capacity as Corporation Counsel, he was the draftsman of a new City Charter, engaged in lengthy litigation to protect the city's water supply in Hemlock, and had repeated confrontations in court with local monopolies and the State Public Service Commission over fares and practices. Cunningham was twice elected to the Supreme Court for the Seventh District, sitting from 1920 to his

mandatory retirement Mandatory retirement also known as forced retirement, enforced retirement or compulsory retirement, is the set age at which people who hold certain jobs or offices are required by industry custom or by law to leave their employment, or retire. A ...

at the close of 1944. At the time of his election in November 1919, it was noted that he was "known throughout the state for his successful prosecution of the Rochester fare case". Shortly after he assumed office on the court on January 1, 1920, he fell ill, and was deemed unlikely to survive, but he spent four months in a homeopathic hospital, and then went resort in the South to recover, and was well enough to return to work in the fall of that year.Is Himself Again, Says Cunningham, Back from South
, ''

'' (June 25, 1920), p. 24. He stood as a Republican candidate for the State Court of Appeals in 1940, a failing enterprise due to the continued popularity of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and the Democratic Party in that year. He functioned as a trial judge for seventeen years before being appointed to the Appellate Division for the Fourth Department in 1937. He was elevated to Presiding Justice in 1944, a post he held for the entirety of that year. He acted as an Official Referee from his retirement to his death on January 2, 1946. Cunningham died at his home in Rochester following a lengthy illness and decline, at the age of 71. He was interred at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Benjamin American lawyers 1946 deaths 1874 births People from Rochester, New York New York state court judges American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law New York (state) Republicans