James T. McDermott (judge)

James Thomas McDermott Sr. was born in Philadelphia in 1926, the son of Harry Aloysius McDermott and his wife Helen Genoe McDermott.{{sfn|Marriage certificate 1924}}{{sfn|1930 Census}} His maternal grandfather, James Genoe, was a Philadelphia Police captain, a fact later said to have contributed to McDermott's law-and-order approach on the bench.{{sfn|Ditzen|1992}} His mother, Helen, was a vaudevillian singer and actress before her marriage and entertained the troops in World War I.{{sfn|Inquirer 1985}} His father, a clerk and bartender, died in 1954.{{sfn|1930 Census}}{{sfn|Death certificate 1954}}

McDermott earned a bachelor's degree from Saint Joseph's University and a J.D. from Temple University Law School.{{sfn|Cass|1992}} He was admitted to the bar in 1951 and practiced in the field of labor law at the firm he co-founded, McDermott, Quinn & Higgins.{{sfn|McFadden|Lynch|1958}} He also taught classes on legal evidence at St. Joseph's and on commercial law at the American Institute of Banking.{{sfn|McFadden|Lynch|1958}} In 1954, he married Mary Theresa Bradley; they remained married until her death in 1974 and had six children—five sons and one daughter.{{sfn|Inquirer 1954}}{{sfn|Inquirer 1974}}

McDermott entered the political arena in 1958 when he ran for the Republican nomination for the federal House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 3rd district. He won the primary easily over William M. Phillips, a former city councilman, taking 85% of the vote.{{sfn|Kohler|1958}} In the general election that November, however, McDermott lost to the incumbent Democrat, James A. Byrne, by a 63.5% to 36.5% margin.{{sfn|Dubin|1998|p=619}}

In 1962, McDermott ran for city council at-large. The race was a special election, called when councilman Victor E. Moore resigned his seat to become head of the Philadelphia Gas Works in September 1962. Because of the short time between the vacancy and the election, ward leaders picked McDermott instead of holding a primary.{{sfn|Inquirer 1962}} That November, McDermott lost the election to the executive director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority, Walter S. Pytko.{{sfn|Bulletin Almanac 1963}}

File:1963PhiladelphiaMayorByWard.png

McDermott was the city Republican organization's choice for mayor in 1963, and he easily defeated three independent candidates in the May primary.{{sfn|Miller|1963a}} The Democrats nominated acting mayor James Tate for a full term, and a close race was expected.{{sfn|Miller|1963c}} McDermott campaigned on a reform platform, saying that Tate had worked to sabotage the good-government reforms of the Joseph S. Clark Jr. and Richardson Dilworth administrations that had run the city from 1951 to 1962.{{sfn|Miller|1963b}} Tate responded by contrasting his experience with McDermott's and touted his endorsement by the AFL–CIO.{{sfn|Miller|1963b}} McDermott said that Tate "has never been off the public payroll in twenty-five years" and criticized the mayor's refusal to debate him.{{sfn|Miller|1963b}} The election was closer than the one four years earlier, but McDermott still lost by more than 66,000 votes.{{sfn|Miller|1963d}}{{sfn|Bulletin Almanac 1964}}

McDermott continued his private law practice after his mayoral election defeat. In 1965, six new judicial positions were added in Philadelphia's division of the Court of Common Pleas, a trial court of general jurisdiction; Governor William Scranton named McDermott to one of them.{{sfn|Miller|1965}} He and the other five new judges were nominated to full ten-year terms at the election that November. All six were endorsed by both parties and unopposed for retention in office.{{sfn|Inquirer 1965}} He easily won another retention election ten years later, in 1975.{{sfn|Inquirer 1975}} In his time on the bench, McDermott became known as a "hanging judge" who imposed harsh sentences on the criminals convicted in his court.{{sfn|Ditzen|1992}}{{sfn|Taylor|1979}} He imposed the death penalty thirteen times in his fifteen years as a trial court judge.{{sfn|Ditzen|1992}}

In 1979, Mayor Frank Rizzo—then term-limited—encouraged McDermott to enter the mayor's race that year as an independent.{{sfn|Frump|Odom|1979}} A few days later, McDermott took himself out of consideration, citing the tremendous cost of starting an independent campaign just two months before the election.{{sfn|Taylor|1979}}

Two years later, McDermott announced his candidacy for one of two open seats on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. As was common with judicial races at the time, he ran for both major parties' nominations, but remained a member of the Republican Party.{{sfn|Inquirer 1981}} He captured second place in the Republican primary—good enough to be nominated—and third on the Democratic slate—falling just short.{{sfn|Biddle|1981a}} In the general election in November, McDermott took the top spot with his fellow Republican nominee, William D. Hutchinson, winning the second open seat.{{sfn|Biddle|1981b}} The victories gave the Republican Party a 4–3 majority on the court.{{sfn|Biddle|1981b}}

In 1983, The Philadelphia Inquirer published a series of stories accusing McDermott and other supreme court justices of conflicts of interest.{{sfn|Cass|1992}} McDermott sued the newspaper for defamation and won a partial victory after a seven-week trial in 1990.{{sfn|Cass|1992}} The following year, he won another ten-year term on the high court.{{sfn|Ditzen|1992}} McDermott's $6 million verdict against the Inquirer was still being appealed when he died suddenly on June 21, 1992, at the age of 65.{{sfn|Cass|1992}} After a funeral at St. Augustine Church, he was buried alongside his wife at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Marple Township, Pennsylvania.{{sfn|Ditzen|1992}}

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Books

• {{cite book | title = Bulletin Almanac 1963 |date = 1963 |publisher = The Philadelphia Bulletin |location = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |oclc = 8641470 |ref = {{sfnRef|Bulletin Almanac 1963}} }}
• {{cite book | title = Bulletin Almanac 1964 |date = 1964 |publisher = The Philadelphia Bulletin |location = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |oclc = 8641470 |ref = {{sfnRef|Bulletin Almanac 1964}} }}
• {{cite book | last = Dubin | first = Michael J. | year = 1998 | title = United States Congressional elections, 1788–1997 : the official results of the elections of the 1st through 105th Congresses | publisher = McFarland & Co | location = Jefferson, North Carolina | isbn = 978-0-7864-0283-0 }}

Newspapers

• {{cite news |title = Jottings Along the Social Way |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = January 30, 1954 |page=8 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/177704169/ |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|Inquirer 1954}} }}
• {{cite news |last = Kohler |first = Saul |title = Nix's Double Victory in House Contest Blow To Clark |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = May 21, 1958 |page = 3 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/177685051 |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |last1 = McFadden |first1 = James |last2 = Lynch |first2 = Robert Z. |title = The Election: Here Are Your Candidates |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = October 30, 1958 |page = 3 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/177741690|via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |title=GOP Selects 2 in Council Races |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = September 22, 1962 |page=5 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179208550/ |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|Inquirer 1962}} }}
• {{cite news |last = Miller |first = Joseph H. |title = Regulars Score Easy Victories |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = May 22, 1963a |pages = 1, 5 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/179373720/ |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |last = Miller |first = Joseph H. |title = AFL-CIO Backs Tate; He's Called Saboteur |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = September 29, 1963b |page = 7 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/179641372/ |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |last = Miller |first = Joseph H. |title = Photo-Finish Predicted in Mayoralty Race Here |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = November 3, 1963c |page = 1 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/179205005/ |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |last = Miller |first = Joseph H. |title = Tate Elected by 66,000-Vote Margin |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = November 6, 1963d |pages = 1, 3 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/179208743/ |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |last = Miller |first = Joseph H. |title = Scranton Picks Six Judges for Two New Courts |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = July 31, 1965 |pages = 1, 5 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/179811272/ |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |title=21 Unopposed Phila. Judges Elected to 10-Year Terms |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = November 3, 1965 |page=3 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179876380/ |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|Inquirer 1965}} }}
• {{cite news |title=M. McDermott, Judge's Wife |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date= December 18, 1974 |page=2-E |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/173381655/ |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|Inquirer 1974}} }}
• {{cite news |title=Totals in Election |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = November 5, 1975 |page=6 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/172962045/ |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|Inquirer 1975}} }}
• {{cite news |last1 = Frump |first1 = Bob |last2 = Odom |first2 = Maida |title = Enter race, Rizzo urges McDermott |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = August 8, 1979 |pages = 1-A, 2-A |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/174926885 |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |last = Taylor |first = Paul |title = McDermott: Thanks, but no |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = August 17, 1979 |pages = 1-A, 2-A |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/174924466/ |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |title=Judge McDermott to run for Penna. Supreme Court |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date= January 29, 1981 |page= 2-G |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/171881463/ |via = Newspapers.com |ref ={{sfnRef|Inquirer 1981}} }}
• {{cite news |last = Biddle |first = Daniel R. |title = 2 Western Pa. Democrats win Supreme Court primary |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = May 21, 1981a |page = 7-A |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/172059352/ |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |last = Biddle |first = Daniel R. |title = McDermott wins seat on top Pa. court |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = November 5, 1981b |page = 1-A, 19-A |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/173950322/ |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |title=Helen R. Jenoe McDermott |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date= July 4, 1985 |page=8-E |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/173757582/ |via=Newspapers.com |ref={{sfnRef|Inquirer 1985}} }}
• {{cite news |last = Cass |first = Julia |title = James T. McDermott, Pa. justice, dies at 65 |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = June 22, 1992 |pages = 1, 2 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/177943901 |via=Newspapers.com }}
• {{cite news |last = Ditzen |first = L. Stewart |title = J.T. McDermott, a tough justice who had a soft spot for literature |work = The Philadelphia Inquirer |date = June 23, 1992 |page = 6 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/177944335/ |via=Newspapers.com }}

Websites

• {{cite web | url = https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=2536&h=726755&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=61381 | title = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Marriage Index, 1885–1951 |publisher = Ancestry.com | access-date = October 17, 2019 |ref={{sfnRef|Marriage certificate 1924}} }}
• {{cite web | url = https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=6224&h=54718890&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=2442 | title = 1930 United States Federal Census, T626, page 1B |publisher = Ancestry.com | access-date = October 17, 2019 |ref={{sfnRef|1930 Census}} }}
• {{cite web | url = https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=5164&h=7581927&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=eGh5957&_phstart=successSource | title = Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1967 |publisher = Ancestry.com | access-date = October 17, 2019 |ref={{sfnRef|Death certificate 1954}} }}

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Category:1926 births

Category:1992 deaths

Category:Lawyers from Philadelphia

Category:20th-century Pennsylvania state court judges

Category:Pennsylvania Republicans

Category:Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas

Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Category:Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni

Category:Saint Joseph's University alumni