Joseph J. McFadden

Joseph J. McFadden (1916–November 28, 1991) was Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court from 1959 to 1982.

Born in Boise, Idaho, McFadden went to high school in Hailey, Idaho and did pre-law studies in Pocatello, Idaho before attending the University of Idaho College of Law for two years.[1]

McFadden then became a court reporter for judge Doran Sutphen of the Idaho 4th Judicial District, in Gooding, Idaho, under whom McFadden continued his legal studies, gaining admission to the bar in Idaho in 1940.[1] He then entered the practice of law in Hailey,[2] leaving for two years to serve in the United States military during World War II, from 1944 to 1946.[2][1]

After the war, McFadden returned to Hailey, and the following year, after the death of his father, was elected to the position his father had held of Blaine County prosecutor.[1]

In 1959, Governor Robert E. Smylie appointed McFadden to the seat on the Idaho Supreme Court vacated by the death of Chief Justice James W. Porter.[1] McFadden was re-elected to the court in 1960,[3] 1966,[4] and again in 1972,[5] and resigned from the court on August 31, 1982,[2] continuing to hear cases by designation until his death.[1]

He died in a hospital in Boise.[1]