Sanctus – The legal and political worlds of Sanctaria woke to sad news today, with the Supreme Court announcing the death of Associate Justice Louis Cartwright. He was 89. The Court confirmed that he died peacefully last night, with his children by his side. He was predeceased by his wife, Marianne, and one daughter, Julie, who died from tuberculosis as a child.
Justice Cartwright was born in Haven in November 1932. He attended the Pontifical University of Haven, now called the National University of Sanctaria, Haven, and graduated in Canon Law. Following the dissolution of the Papal States of Sanctaria in 1974, he helped secularise criminal law, and began teaching modules in that subject at the university in Haven that he had attended. He qualified as a advocate in 1975, and argued a number of cases before the fledgling Supreme Court in its early years.
Noted for being a pioneer in helping to establish secular legal education in Sanctaria, he was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1979 by the Government of Reverend Eric Childerson, and took office on January 1st 1980. He was, at the time of his death, the longest-serving member of the Court, and the longest-serving member ever to sit on the Supreme Court.
Cartwright is remembered by lawyers for asking questions about theoretical applications of the law, rather than actual application, with many advocates saying his questions were “insightful” or “thought-provoking”.
His family have today asked for privacy while they mourn. Both President Saunders and Chancellor Hendry have expressed condolences on behalf of the nation and the government, respectively. A spokesperson for the government said out of respect for the deceased they would not discuss replacements for Cartwright’s seat on the Supreme Court this week.
ADAM KING, Crime & Justice Correspondent
