Justice, New Mexico Supreme Court
Born in Albuquerque in 1935, Gene Franchini attended Loyola University of the South and the University of New Mexico (1957), received a law degree from Georgetown University, and a masters in law at the University of Virginia. He returned to Albuquerque to practice law in 1960. Franchini was appointed judge in the Second Judicial District in 1975, but resigned in 1981 to protest mandatory sentencing legislation, which he strongly opposed. In 1990 he was elected as a Democrat to the New Mexico Supreme Court, serving until 2002, including serving as Chief Justice for 1997-1998. Franchini died in 2009 of a heart attack while giving an annual lecture on ethics and the role of the judge to University of New Mexico law students. The mock trial program in New Mexico is named in his honor, as Judge Franchini was highly supportive of it during his lifetime. The National High School Mock Trial Championship awards a Justice Gene Franchini Golden Gavel Award in honor of his contributions.
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1800s