Dennis Edwards Jr. (August 19, 1921 – April 13, 2017) was a judge in New York City.

Early life

Edwards was born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. His parents were Dennis Edwards Sr. and Gladys Edwards (née Wilson). He graduated from

DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

in 1937 and then from New York University in 1941. While attending N.Y.U., he became a member of his local Democratic Party organization to prepare himself for a political science course, and it was there that the other members urged him to study law.

Legal career

Edwards graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1944, and then took a job in the legal department of the Service Transportation Corporation. In 1948, he became law secretary to the

New York State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

, where he served under Justices Benjamin F. Schreiber and Henry Clay Greenberg. In 1965, New York City Mayor

Robert F. Wagner Robert Ferdinand Wagner I (June 8, 1877May 4, 1953) was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949. Born in Prussia, Wagner migrated with his family to the United States in 1885. After graduating ...

appointed Edwards to be a judge on the

New York City Criminal Court The Criminal Court of the City of New York is a court of the State Unified Court System in New York City that handles misdemeanors (generally, crimes punishable by fine or imprisonment of up to one year) and lesser offenses, and also conducts a ...

. Among the notable cases he heard was that of restaurateur

Toots Shor Bernard "Toots" Shor (May 6, 1903 – January 23, 1977) was best known as the proprietor of a legendary saloon and restaurant, Toots Shor's Restaurant, in Manhattan. He ran three establishments under that name, but his first – and most ren ...

, who was accused of assaulting an unruly customer in 1967. Edwards was subsequently reappointed to his court seat by

John V. Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

in 1972 and by

Edward I. Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayo ...

in 1981. In 1980, Edwards was named an acting justice of

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

, and several months later, presided over his best-known case, that of

Mark David Chapman Mark David Chapman (born May 10, 1955) is an American man who murdered former Beatles member John Lennon in New York City on December 8, 1980. As Lennon walked into the archway of his apartment building at The Dakota, Chapman shot Lennon from ...

, who killed

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

. The charge was second-degree murder, which carried a maximum sentence of 25 years to life. After several hearings regarding his competency and against the advice of his lawyer, Chapman pleaded guilty on June 22, 1981. In accepting the plea, Judge Edwards informed Chapman that he would hand down a sentence of only 20 years to life because he had entered his guilty plea voluntarily. In a very unusual move, Edwards closed the proceedings to the public and press without prior notice or holding a hearing. According to the court transcript, that Edwards expressed concern that if he did not accept the plea, his decision might later prejudice a jury at trial as the result of having to ask Chapman specific questions about the crime. At the formal sentencing on August 24, Judge Edwards also recommended that Chapman receive psychiatric treatment during his imprisonment. Chapman's lawyer appealed the guilty plea and sentence on the grounds that Chapman was mentally incompetent when he made his plea, but in 1984, the Appellate Division court upheld Edwards’ decision. New York Governor

Mario M. Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as t ...

nominated Edwards to the

New York Court of Claims The New York State Court of Claims is the court of the Judiciary of New York, New York State Unified Court System which handles all claims against the State of New York (state), New York and certain state agencies. Judges Judges of the Court of Cl ...

in 1983, where he served until his retirement in 1989.

Personal life

Edward married Dorothy Fairclough, who died in 2016. He was survived by his two daughters Lynne Edwards Engelskirchen and Denise Edwards Young, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards Jr., Dennis 1921 births 2017 deaths New York Supreme Court Justices Politicians from New York City Lawyers from Manhattan People from Harlem DeWitt Clinton High School alumni New York University alumni Harvard Law School alumni African-American judges American judges 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American lawyers