• STUDENTS
  • ALUMNI
  • FACULTY
  • STAFF
  • LIBRARY
Cooley Law Logo
MENU
  • APPLY
  • J.D.
      • J.D. Program
      • Prospective Students
      • Apply Now
      • Tuition & Financial Aid
      • Scholarships
      • FAQ
      • Contact Admissions
      • Campus Locations
      • Course Catalog
      • Schedule Options
      • Study Abroad
      • Our Student Body
      • Academic Calendar
      • U.S. Legal Studies for Foreign Attorneys
  • EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
      • Social Justice Clinics
      • Community Service Clinics
      • Externships
      • Simulation Courses
      • Competitions
  • MAKE A GIFT
      • Giving Tuesday 2021
      • Annual Fund
      • DEI Champions
      • Merit Scholarship Fund
      • Planned Giving
      • Cooley Society Membership
      • Donor Honor Roll
  • ABOUT
      • Mission, Values, and Vision
      • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
      • Home of the National Legal Mentoring Consortium
      • Commitment to Social Justice and Access
      • Leadership & Administration
      • Blog
      • Campus Locations
      • Title IX and Campus Safety
      • Media Requests
      • Consumer Information
      • Jobs

Search

Judge Fitzgerald's Final Precedent

iStock-469320866-1

Judge E. Thomas Fitzgerald of Owosso, Michigan, passed away December 27, 2018, at age 79. He was a trial lawyer for 24 years before his election to the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1990. He served on the court for another 24 years before retiring in 2014.
Judge Fitzgerald also taught for many years as an adjunct professor at Cooley Law School.

Judge E. Thomas FitzgeraldIn an obituary in the Lansing State Journal, his colleagues on the court remembered Judge Fitzgerald as “one of the most decent, caring individuals one could ever meet.” In keeping with his nature, his family specified that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Access to Justice Campaign.

The Access to Justice Campaign is administered by the Michigan State Bar Foundation. One-hundred percent of donations for operations are distributed to civil legal aid programs based on poverty populations and statewide needs.

Civil legal aid programs help those with low incomes protect their livelihoods, their health, their homes, and their families through access to legal services. The need far outweighs the resources available.

I have nothing but admiration for other charities, like the Humane Society or Doctors Without Borders. If I were a veterinarian or physician, I would consider designating them for memorial donations. But I am a lawyer. I would prefer that the end of my earthly existence benefit something law-related. The Access to Justice Campaign is a worthy recipient.

Other vehicles for honoring the memory of a departed member of the legal profession are memorial funds maintained by bar associations, such as the Ingham County Bar Foundation and the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Foundation.

If you wish to follow Judge Fitzgerald’s precedent, let your loved ones know. (The floral industry offers suggestions for alternative phrases.)

Please make this discussion one of your New Year’s resolutions.

Otto StockmeyerThe author, Otto Stockmeyer, a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Cooley Law School, is a past president of the Michigan State Bar Foundation. This article first appeared in the February 2019 issue of BRIEFS, published by the Ingham County Bar Association. Professor Stockmeyer’s previous Cooley Law School blog posts are archived here.

More on Distinguished Professor Emeritus Otto Stockmeyer

Tags: Cooley Faculty
Back to Blog
  • Tweet

Related Articles

Name Those Judges!

Blog author Otto Stockmeyer, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, was a Commissioner and Research...
Read More

The Liberty Bell Award Has Michigan Roots

On May 1 each year, thousands of people and organizations across the nation participate in Law Day,...
Read More

The State Bar-Cooley Connection

Blog contributor Otto Stockmeyer is a Cooley Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He represented...
Read More

Subscribe to Email Updates

Recent Posts

Posts by Topic

  • Cooley Faculty (135)
  • Cooley Alumni (123)
  • Cooley Students (84)
  • Legal Education (78)
  • Faculty Experts (72)
  • Tampa Bay Campus (27)
  • Diversity (24)
  • Cooley Law School Students (21)
  • Dean's Fellow (19)
  • From Where I Stand (18)
  • Awards (13)
  • Faculty Research & Scholarship (12)
  • Innocence Project (12)
  • Military Students (11)
  • Plain language (11)
  • Study Abroad (11)
  • Multicultural Lawyering (10)
  • Michigan Lawyer Employment Data (7)
  • Cooley Law School History (6)
  • Lansing Campus (5)
  • Library Blog Series (5)
  • Weekend Program (5)
  • Equal Access to Justice (4)
  • Kimberly O'Leary (4)
  • Legal Ethics (4)
  • Bar Exam Advice (3)
  • Externships (3)
  • International Law Faculty Experts (3)
  • Resiliency (3)
  • Continuous Improvement (2)
  • Cooley Career Office (2)
  • Service & Integrity (2)
  • online learning (2)
  • Cooley Mission (1)
  • Homeland & National Security Law Review (1)
  • LL.M. (1)
  • LSAT Prep (1)
  • Tribute (1)
see all
Cooley Law Logo

Cooley Law School
300 South Capitol Avenue, Lansing, MI 48933
Tampa Oaks I, 12802 Tampa Oaks Boulevard, Suite 150, Tampa, FL 33637
(517) 371-5140

Contact Us

Contact Admissions

Read Our Blog

Full Sitemap

Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

Consumer Information

In corde hominum est anima legis. | The spirit of the law is in the human heart.

Cooley Law School is an independent, private, non-profit educational institution accredited by the American Bar Association and the Higher Learning Commission. 

Read non-discrimination policy

If you encounter accessibility barriers while on our website, please notify our Accessibility Office using the Inaccessible Content Notification Form.

© 2024 Cooley Law School
Designed By InVerve Marketing