John A. Speziale
{{Short description|American judge (1922–2005)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = John A. Speziale
|order =
|office = Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
|governor = William A. O'Neill
|term_start = 1981
|term_end = 1984
|predecessor = Joseph Bogdanski
|successor = Ellen Ash Peters{{cite web |last1=Madden |first1=Richard L. |title=NOMINEE FOR CHIEF JUDGE |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/14/nyregion/nominee-for-chief-judge.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=7 January 2024 |date=14 November 1984}}
|office1 = Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
|governor1 = Ella Grasso
William A. O'Neill
|term_start1 = 1977
|term_end1 = 1981
|order2 = 70th
|office2 = Treasurer of Connecticut
|governor2 = John N. Dempsey
|term_start2 = 1959
|term_end2 = November 15, 1961
|predecessor2 = John Attaviano Jr.{{cite web |title=Treasurers |website=Connecticut Secretary of the State |url= http://www.sots.ct.gov/RegisterManual/SectionI/Treasurers.htm |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608192628/http://www.sots.ct.gov/RegisterManual/SectionI/Treasurers.htm |archive-date=8 June 2007 |language=en |date=8 June 2007}}
|successor2 = Donald J. Irwin
|birth_date = November 21, 1922
|birth_place = Winsted, Connecticut, United States of America
|death_date = January 3, 2005 (age 82)
|death_place = Torrington, Connecticut, United States of America
|party = Democratic
|education = Duke University (BA)
Duke University School of Law (JD)
| allegiance = United States of America
| branch = US Navy
| serviceyears = 1942-1946
| rank = Lieutenant
}}
John Albert Speziale (November 21, 1922 – January 3, 2005) was an American lawyer who served as Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 1977 to 1984, serving as its first Italian-American chief justice from 1981 to 1984.
Early life
Speziale was born in Winsted, Connecticut on November 21, 1922, to Mary and Louis Speziale, who were Sicilian immigrants. His father, Louis Speziale, was a former member of the Torrington City Council.{{cite news |last1=Mahoney |first1=Edmund |title=EX-CHIEF JUSTICE SPEZIALE DIES |url=https://www.courant.com/2005/01/04/ex-chief-justice-speziale-dies/ |access-date=7 January 2024 |work=Hartford Courant |date=4 January 2005 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Olmstead |first1=Jamie Preston |title=Former State Chief Justice Speziale dies |url=https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/Former-State-Chief-Justice-Speziale-dies-11885904.php |access-date=7 January 2024 |work=The Middletown Press |publisher=Hearst Media Services Connecticut |date=4 January 2005}} He graduated from Torrington High School in 1940 and received a B.A. in economics from Duke University in 1943, followed by a J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1947. From 1942 to 1946, he served in the United States Navy on a destroyer in the Pacific Theater of World War II as a lieutenant.{{cite web |last1=Saxon |first1=Wolfgang |title=John Speziale, 82, Connecticut Chief Justice, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/07/obituaries/john-speziale-82-connecticut-chief-justice-dies.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=7 January 2024 |date=7 January 2005}}Connecticut Reports (2005), volume 272, p. 925-931.
Career
In 1948, he was admitted to the Connecticut Bar Association, and became the Torrington Municipal Court judge in 1949. In 1958, Speziale was elected as the Connecticut State Treasurer. He served while continuing his private practice until he was promoted in 1961 to the Connecticut Court of Common Pleas, and was promoted again in 1965 to the Connecticut Superior Court, becoming its chief judge from 1975 to 1977. While on the Connecticut Superior Court, Speziale was noted for his decision in the Peter Reilly murder case where he declared Reilly innocent non obstante verdicto after reviewing further evidence not presented during the case.{{cite news |last1=Wenograd |first1=Fran |title=ACCESSIBILITY A GOAL OF NEW CHIEF JUDGE |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/08/nyregion/accessibility-a-goal-of-new-chief-judge.html |access-date=7 January 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=8 November 1981}}
In 1977, Governor Ella Grasso nominated Speziale to the Connecticut Supreme Court. On April 15, 1978, Speziale became a chief court administrator, and was known for implementing the merging of the Connecticut Court of Common Pleas and Connecticut Juvenile Court with the Connecticut Superior Court.{{cite web | url = https://www.jud.ct.gov/ystday/history.html | title = History of the Courts |website=jud.ct.gov | publisher = Connecticut Judicial Branch | access-date = 9 October 2022 }}
In 1981, Governor William A. O'Neill appointed Speziale to the position of Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, succeeding Justice Joseph Bogdanski. Speziale served from 1981 to 1984.
Later life and death
On November 21, 1984, Speziale retired from the Connecticut Supreme Court and returned to private law practice.Connecticut Reports (1984), volume 194, p. iii.
Speziale died of cancer on January 3, 2005, in Torrington, Connecticut, at the age of 82.
References
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{{succession box
|title=Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
|before=Joseph Bogdanski
|after=Ellen Ash Peters
|years=1981–1984}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speziale, John A.}}
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:People from Winsted, Connecticut
Category:Duke University alumni
Category:Duke University School of Law alumni
Category:United States Navy officers
Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II
Category:State treasurers of Connecticut