Haydn Proctor (June 16, 1903 – October 2, 1996) was an American politician and judge who served as President of the
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
and Associate Justice of the
New Jersey Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging t ...
.
Biography
Proctor was born in 1903 in the
Ocean Grove section of
Neptune Township, New Jersey
Neptune Township is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 28,061, an increase of 126 from the 2010 census enumeration of 27,935, in turn an increase of 245 ...
. He attended
Neptune High School
Neptune High School is a comprehensive four-year community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Neptune Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Neptune Townsh ...
, graduating in 1922, and
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General La ...
, graduating in 1926. He went on to
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
, where he was associate editor of the ''
Yale Law Journal
The ''Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ), known also as the ''Yale Law Review'', is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students ...
'', earning his law degree in 1929. He served
Monmouth County as a
Republican member of the
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...
in 1936 and 1937. In 1937 he was appointed Judge of the District Court of the First Judicial District of Monmouth County.
He was elected to the
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
in 1938 and was reelected in 1941 and 1944. He was majority leader of the Senate in 1945 and Senate President in 1946, serving as Acting Governor in the absence of Governor
Walter Evans Edge
Walter Evans Edge (November 20, 1873October 29, 1956) was an American diplomat and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served as the 36th governor of New Jersey, from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1944 to 1947, during both ...
. Governor Edge nominated him to a vacancy on the Circuit Court in December 1946, and he was sworn in after the end of his Senate term in March 1947. He was a delegate to the New Jersey
Constitutional convention Constitutional convention may refer to:
* Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement
*Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...
of 1947. He became a Superior Court Judge in September 1948 and was reappointed by Governor
Alfred E. Driscoll
Alfred Eastlack Driscoll (October 25, 1902 – March 9, 1975) was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey Senate (1939–1941) representing Camden County, who served as the 43rd governor of New Jersey, and as pr ...
in 1953.
[
In August 1957, Governor Robert B. Meyner appointed Proctor to be an associate justice of the ]New Jersey Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging t ...
. He was confirmed immediately by the State Senate and began serving in October 1957, after the retirement of Justice A. Dayton Oliphant
Alfred Dayton Oliphant (October 28, 1887 – June 25, 1963) was a Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1945 to 1946, and again from 1948 to 1957.
Biography
Oliphant was born in Trenton, New Jersey on October 28, 1887, the son of Civil W ...
. He was reappointed by Governor Richard J. Hughes in 1964.[ and served during the era known as the Weintraub Court.
In 1973, Proctor left the bench after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. He served on the Supreme Court's Committee on Opinions until he was 87. He died in 1996 at the age of 93 at a hospital near his home in Lakewood Township.]
See also
*List of justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey
Current justices
,
List of justices before 1947
Before 1947 and particularly after 1844, the structure of the New Jersey state judiciary was incredibly complex. In some cases, it is not entirely clear whether the following justices served on th ...
References
External links
Haydn Proctor
at The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proctor, Haydn
1903 births
1996 deaths
People from Neptune Township, New Jersey
Neptune High School alumni
Lafayette College alumni
Yale Law School alumni
Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly
Republican Party New Jersey state senators
Presidents of the New Jersey Senate
New Jersey state court judges
Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century American judges
20th-century American politicians