John Eccleston Frankum (March 6, 1898 – June 7, 1978) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia from 1967 to 1970.

Early life, education, and career edit

Born in Habersham County, Georgia,[1][2] Frankum received his law degree from Atlanta Law School in 1920 and entered the practice of law in Clarkesville, Georgia. He was mayor of Clarkesville from 1931 to 1936.[2]

Judicial career edit

After serving for periods as a city court judge in Clarkesville, and as the city's solicitor general, Frankum was appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals in 1960 by Governor Ernest Vandiver.[2] He was elected to the seat in November of that year, and reelected in 1966, serving only one year into his second term before Governor Lester Maddox appointed him to a seat on the Georgia Supreme Court,[2] vacated by the death of Eugene Cook from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[3]

Maddox resigned from the court in 1970. He died eight years later, after a lengthy illness.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Memoriam", Reports of Cases Decided in the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, Volume 242 (1978), p. xxvii.
  2. ^ a b c d e "John Frankum, Former Justice", The Atlanta Constitution (June 9, 1978), p. 5C.
  3. ^ "Frankum Named to Cook's Seat", The Atlanta Constitution (April 19, 1967), p. 1.
Political offices
Preceded by Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia
1967–1970
Succeeded by