Charles Blakey Blackmar

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Charles B. Blackmar
Chief Justice of Missouri
In office
July 1, 1989 – June 30, 1991
Preceded byWilliam Howard Billings
Succeeded byEdward D. Robertson Jr.
Judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri
In office
December 15, 1982 – April 1, 1992
Appointed byChristopher S. "Kit" Bond
Succeeded byWilliam Ray Price Jr.
Personal details
Born
Charles Blakey Blackmar

(1922-04-19)April 19, 1922
Kansas City, Missouri
DiedJanuary 20, 2007(2007-01-20) (aged 84)
Clearwater, Florida
Spouse(s)Ellen Day Bonnifield (1943–1983)
Jeanne Stephens Lee (1984–2007)
Alma materPrinceton University
University of Michigan Law School[1]

Charles B. Blackmar (April 19, 1922 – January 20, 2007)

Governor Kit Bond
.

Charles Blakey Blackmar graduated from Southwest High School in

He served as a

St. Louis University School of Law. While a professor, Blackmar served as special assistant attorney general of Missouri and wrote books and articles.[1][3]

Blackmar was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court, beginning his tenure on December 15, 1982. As a judge on the Missouri Supreme Court, he drew attention for his dissent in the case of Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, which was later appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. Blackmar argued that decisions on medical treatment for incompetent family members are properly left where they historically have been made, to the family without interference from the state,[4] and that "the very existence of capital punishment demonstrates a relativity of values by establishing the proposition that some lives are not worth preserving."[5]

Blackmar was chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court from July 1, 1989, to June 30, 1991. He retired from the court on April 1, 1992, and in retirement promoted

stem-cell research and the abolition of capital punishment.[3] After he retired, he was cited by opponents of John Ashcroft's appointment to be Attorney General under then-President George W. Bush because of his accusation that Ashcroft "tamper[ed] with the judiciary."[6]

Personal life

Blackmar married Ellen Day Bonnifield in 1943 and had five children and eight grandchildren. He died in Belleair, Florida, on January 20, 2007, aged 84.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d John Demoor, "Former Chief Justice Charles Blackmar dies at age 84." Kansas City Daily News-Press, January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ Siegel, Hannah (2017). "Judge Charles B. Blackmar". Missouri Courts.
  3. ^ a b "Charles Blakey Blackmar '42 Archived January 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine" (April 18, 2007). Princeton Alumni Weekly.
  4. ^ Herbert Ferrari, "Some decisions aren't state's to make." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 5, 1989.
  5. ^ William Robbins, "Parents fight for right to let a daughter die." The New York Times. November 27, 1989.
  6. ^ Bruce Shapiro, "Block Ashcroft -- II", The Nation. January 22, 2001.