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OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION |
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| Creator: | Edward J. Devitt (Edward James), 1911- . | |
| Title: | Edward J. Devitt Papers. | |
| Date: | 1925-1992. | |
| Abstract: | Personal papers, including speech files and legal opinions, documenting the professional activities of a U.S. district court judge (1954-1991) and Republican congressman (1947-1948) from St. Paul, Minnesota. | |
| Quantity: | 14.75 cu. ft. (16 boxes and 1 oversize folder, unboxed). | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description section for shelf locations. | |
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BIOGRAPHY OF EDWARD J. DEVITT
Devitt was born in St. Paul, May 5, 1911, the son of Thomas P. and Ethel (McGuire) Devitt. He attended St. Paul public schools until the death of his father in 1921, at which time the family moved to East Grand Forks, Minnesota. While attending school in St. Paul he was a classmate of Warren Burger and Harry Blackmun, who both later became justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. From 1926 to 1932 he attended St. John's Preparatory School and University (Collegeville, Minnesota) and from 1932 to 1935 he attended the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks where he received his law degree.
His legal career began in 1935 with his election as an East Grand Forks municipal judge (1935-1939). He was later appointed an assistant Minnesota attorney general (1939-1942), a Ramsey County probate judge (1950-1954); and a U.S. district judge (1954-1992).
Devitt was elected to the Fourth Congressional District seat in 1946 and lost it in 1948 to Eugene J. McCarthy. He served as a lieutenant commander to the Seventh Fleet in U.S. Navy intelligence during World War II (1942-1946). Devitt married Marcelle LaRose MacRae of Mandan, North Dakota on April 22, 1939. He died at the age of 80 in St. Paul on March 2, 1992.
Biographical information was taken from the collection.
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SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION
The collection documents Devitt's life and career from high school and college days (1920s) to his death in 1992. Biographical information, scrapbooks, correspondence, speeches, published articles, legal opinions, committee records, campaign literature, newspaper clippings, and magazine articles contain information on his political campaigns for the Fourth Congressional District seat (1946-1948), on his congressional career, and his subsequent judicial career (1950-1991). Also included are correspondence, booklets, and newspaper clippings relating to anniversaries of his judicial appointments and birth celebrations (1979-1990), as well as certificates, citations, diplomas, and appointments (1935-1985).
The majority of the collection documents Devitt's professional activities with the American Bar Association and the Judicial Conference of the United States. Sections of particular interest include files regarding Devitt's chairmanship of the ABA's Advisory Committee on Fair Trial-Free Press and files regarding his work with the Judicial Conference concerning judicial standards.
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ORGANIZATION OF THE COLLECTION |
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| These records are divided into the following three sections: | ||
| Personal and Political Papers, 1925-1991 | ||
| Speeches, Articles, and Legal Opinions, 1946-1991 | ||
| Professional Organizations and Activities, 1946-1991 | ||
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INDEX TERMS |
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| This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings. | ||
| Topics: | ||
| American Revolution Bicentennial, 1776-1976. | ||
| Catholics -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul. | ||
| Circuit Courts -- United States. | ||
| Court administration -- United States. | ||
| District courts -- United States. | ||
| Free press and fair trial -- United States. | ||
| Freedom of speech -- United States. | ||
| Irish Americans -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul. | ||
| Jury -- United States. | ||
| Justice, Administration of -- United States. | ||
| Legal opinions -- United States. | ||
| Liquor laws -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis -- Criminal provisions. | ||
| Mass media -- Censorship -- United States. | ||
| Mass media and criminal justice -- United States. | ||
| Newspaper court reporting -- United States. | ||
| Saint Patrick's Day -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul. | ||
| Student activities -- Minnesota -- Collegeville. | ||
| Place: | ||
| Saint Paul (Minn.). | ||
| Persons: | ||
| Blumenfeld, Isadore, 1900-1981. | ||
| Burger, Warren E., 1907-. | ||
| MacKinnon, George Edward, 1906- . | ||
| Organizations: | ||
| American Bar Association. | ||
| American Society of Newspaper Editors. | ||
| Judicial Conference of the United States. | ||
| Minnesota Newspaper Foundation. | ||
| National Association of Broadcasters. | ||
| St. John's Preparatory School (Collegeville, Minn.). | ||
| St. John's University (Collegeville, Minn.). | ||
| West Publishing Company. | ||
| Types of Documentation: | ||
| Photographs. | ||
| Speeches. | ||
| Occupations: | ||
| Judges -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul. | ||
| Lawyers. | ||
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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION |
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| Preferred Citation: | ||
| [Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Edward J. Devitt Papers. Minnesota Historical Society. | ||
| See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples. | ||
| Accession Information: | ||
| Accession number: 14,782 | ||
| Processing Information: | ||
| Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, December 1992; Monica Manny Ralston, April 1999 | ||
| PALS ID number: 09-00038080 | ||
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