William M. Maltbie

Who was William M. Maltbie?

William Mills Maltbie was a lawyer, judge, and Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Maltbie was the son of Theodore Mills Maltbie, a prominent lawyer and politician who served three terms in the General Assembly and two in the state senate. William Maltbie was educated at Hartford Public High School, Yale, and Yale Law School. On graduation he was admitted to the bar and joined his father's practice in Hartford. He lived in Granby for all of his life, commuting to Hartford when necessary.

Maltbie served as one of Granby's representatives in the General Assembly in 1913. In 1914 he was appointed assistant state's attorney for Hartford County, where he met Hugh M. Alcorn, the state's attorney, who became a lifelong friend. While still assistant state's attorney, Maltbie served as Governor Marcus H. Holcomb's executive secretary from 1915-7. In 1917 Governor Holcomb appointed him to the Superior Court. In 1925 he was raised to the Connecticut Supreme Court; in 1930 he became Chief Justice. He held that position until 1950 when he reached the judicial retirement age of 70. Following his retirement from the bench he served as a state referee and conducted two one-man grand jury investigations, in 1951 and 1954.