Richard J. Hughes

Infobox Governor
name = Richard Joseph Hughes


caption =
order = 45^th
office = Governor of New Jersey
term_start = January 16, 1962
term_end = January 20, 1970
predecessor = Robert B. Meyner
successor = William T. Cahill
order2 = Chief Justice of the
office2 = New Jersey Supreme Court
term_start2 = 1973
term_end2 = 1979
predecessor2 = Pierre P. Garven
successor2 = Robert N. Wilentz
birth_date = birth date|1909|8|10|mf=y
birth_place = Florence Township, New Jersey
death_date = death date and age |1992|12|07|1909|08|10
death_place = Boca Raton, Florida
party = Democratic
spouse = Miriam McGrory
Elizabeth Murphy
religion = Catholic

Richard Joseph Hughes (b. August 10 1909, Florence Township, New Jerseyndash d. December 7 1992, Boca Raton, Florida) was an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 45th Governor of New Jersey, from 1962 to 1970 and as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1973-1979. To date, Hughes is the only person to have served New Jersey as both Governor and Chief Justice. [ [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj/about/history.html The United States Attorney's Office: District of New Jersey - A Rich History of Public Service] , accessed July 18, 2006.] Sullivan, Joseph F. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1D8153CF93BA35751C1A964958260 " Richard J. Hughes, Governor and Judge, Dies at 83"] , "The New York Times", December 8, 1992. Accessed March 26, 2008. "Mr. Hughes was the only man to serve New Jersey as both Governor and Chief Justice.... In a landmark opinion in the case of Karen Ann Quinlan, the seven-member court unanimously asserted an individual's right to refuse medical treatment and a guardian's power to exercise that right in the event the patient is too ill to make his or her wishes known."]

Biography

Born in 1909 in Florence Township, New Jersey, Hughes was county court judge from 1948-1952 and a superior court judge from 1952-61. After serving as Governor of New Jersey, he served as the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1973-1979, having been nominated for the post by his successor, William T. Cahill. [Schwaneberg, Robert. [http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_docid=10ED0D3AB7598A58&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=NaN&p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated4&p_nbid=V57P58APMTE4NTg0NzQ0OS4yODY4NjU6MTo3OnJhLTE4ODg "A critical choice for Corzine: Naming chief justice - Poritz's mandatory retirement creates several scenarios for powerful post"] , "The Star-Ledger", December 29, 2005. Accessed August 6, 2007. "In October 1973, Chief Justice Pierre Garven, a Republican, died after less than two months in the post. Then-Gov. William T. Cahill was a lame duck, having been dumped by the Republican Party in the primary. Democrats won both the governor's office and control of the Senate in the November election. Cahill nominated his Democratic predecessor, Richard J. Hughes, who had been a judge before becoming governor."] As Chief Justice, the court issued a unanimous ruling in the Karen Ann Quinlan, allowing an individual the right to refuse medical treatment and the right of a guardian' to exercise that right if the patient cannot.

Hughes was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from New Jersey in 1948 (as an alternate), 1968 and 1972.

Many credit the fact that then-President Lyndon B. Johnson had a very close friendship with Hughes, as one reason that Atlantic City hosted the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

He died of congestive heart failure in 1992 in Boca Raton, Florida. He was interred at the St. Mary's Cemetery in Trenton, New Jersey.

The building in Trenton, New Jersey that houses the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety (headed by the Attorney General), the chambers and offices of the State Supreme Court, and the administrative headquarters of the statewide court system, was dedicated in 1982 as the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, in his honor. [ [http://www.state.nj.us/lps/hjc.htm Web page of the Office of the Attorney General] , New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. Accessed November 22, 2006.]

Several of Hughes' children have become prominent in New Jersey law and politics. His stepson, Michael Murphy, is a prominent lobbyist and was previously the Morris County Prosecutor and 1997 candidate for Governor of New Jersey. Another son, John Hughes, is the longest serving Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and presides in Trenton. Yet another son, Brian M. Hughes, is the elected County Executive of Mercer County.

References

ee also

*List of Governors of New Jersey

External links

* [http://www.njstatelib.org/NJ_Information/Digital_Collections/Governors_of_New_Jersey/GHUGH.pdf Biography of Richard J. Hughes (PDF)] , New Jersey State Library
* [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=1119224971c81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD New Jersey Governor Richard Joseph Hughes] , National Governor's Association
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/hughes.html#RJD0VOJZL Political Graveyard info for Richard J. Hughes]