James Putnam Archibald (1912 – May 28, 2006) was a judge of the

Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. Between 1820 and 1839, justices served lifetime ...

. The son of a lawyer, Archibald attended

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

and law school at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

before returning to Houlton in 1937. He worked in his father's firm and in 1941 was elected Aroostook County attorney. After military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was re-elected to the post. As a special assistant attorney general, he was called to investigate the double murder of a doctor and his wife, and in 1954 led a probe into allegations of payoffs by a Maine wine distributor to the state liquor commission. He was appointed to the Superior Court in 1957 by Governor

Edmund Muskie Edmund Sixtus Muskie (March 28, 1914March 26, 1996) was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 58th United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981, a United States Senator from Maine from 1 ...

. In 1971, Governor Kenneth M. Curtis appointed him to the

in 1971. He became an active retired justice in 1981. Archibald was highly respected and well liked by lawyers and fellow judges. Former Maine Chief Justice Vincent L. McKusick eulogized him as "the grand old man of the supreme judiciary".

References

External links

Bangor Daily News obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archibald, James 1912 births 2006 deaths Bowdoin College alumni Boston University School of Law alumni Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court 20th-century Maine state court judges People from Houlton, Maine Justices of the Maine Superior Court