Francis Ford (judge)
| Francis Ford | |
|---|---|
| District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts | |
|
In office 1938–1972 |
|
| Preceded by | Seat Created |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Louis Tauro |
| United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | |
|
In office 1933–1938 |
|
| Preceded by | Frederick H. Tarr |
| Succeeded by | John A. Canavan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 23, 1882 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | May 26, 1975 (aged 92) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
Harvard University Harvard Law School |
| Occupation | Attorney Judge |
Francis Joseph William Ford (December 23, 1882 – May 26, 1975) was a U.S. District Court Judge in Boston from 1933 to 1972, after serving briefly as senior judge during his final year of service.
The sculptor Kahlil Gibran was commissioned to create a bronze bas relief of Ford in 1977, which was placed in the John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse in Boston. A dedication was held on November 7, 1977. (Memorial program; 11/7/77).
Ford spent his childhood in South Boston and attended the Boston Latin School. Following graduation he entered Harvard and befriended former president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Following graduation, he attended Harvard Law School and graduated in 1906. (Memorial Service program, 11/7/1977.) He did not, however, receive his degree until 1907 because he could not afford the $20 diploma cost.
He married Anna Creswell and they had one child, Barbara Ford.
Ford practiced law from 1906 to 1933. Ford was appointed U.S. States Attorney by his Harvard classmate, Roosevelt, in Boston on September 22, 1933. (Id.) He also served as a member of the Boston City Council from 1917 to 1923. (Memorial service program, 11/7/77). Ford was particularly alarmed at the growing rate of marijuana use among Boston teenagers. Ford, along with Boston Police Commissioner Joseph Timilty, created a campaign with the Federal Narcotics Bureau to “nip the evil flower of marijuana in the bud.” ("Police Act to Keep Kids from Becoming Killers", Boston Sunday Post, 12/12/37). This was primarily the result of an incident in South Boston during which teenagers fired at police while apparently under the influence of marijuana. (Id.) The teens had just come from a “tea party” in South Boston, which at the time referred to a party at which marijuana was smoked. (Id.)
As U.S. Attorney, Ford successfully prosecuted two mail-robbers in U.S. v. Rettich which was upheld on appeal (Rettich v. U.S., 84 F.2d.118, 1936). In this case, the defendants were found guilty of both conspiracy to assault a mail truck driver and robbing the driver of U.S. mail. They were also indicted and found guilty for assaulting the trick driver with a dangerous weapon, thus “effecting a robbery of said registered mail.” (Id. at 119). The defendants’ main argument was that the trial court erred in allowing certain evidence ($10,000 found buried in Rettich’s yard) because it was obtained through illegal search and seizure. The court wrote that "evidence secured even by an unlawful search and seizure by state officers, when not acting in behalf of the federal government, is admissible in a prosecution for a federal offense in the United States Courts, whether seized under an invalid search warrant or without any warrant at all." (Id. at 119).
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