Newman A. Flanagan
Newman A. Flanagan (born March 5, 1930) is an American attorney and politician who served as the district attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. He was also a State Deputy of Massachusetts in the Knights of Columbus.
Newman Flanagan | |
|---|---|
| District Attorney of Suffolk County | |
| In office 1978–1992 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 5, 1930 Roslindale, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Children | Paul A. Flanagan |
| Education | Boston College (BA) New England School of Law (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Battles/wars | Korean War |
Early life and education
Flanagan was born in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston.[1] He graduated from Boston College High School in 1947 and served in the United States Navy during the Korean War, where he won three battle stars and a unit citation.[1] In 1954, he graduated from Boston College.[1] He spent two years at Boston College Law School and then transferred to the New England Law Boston, where he graduated in 1957.[1]
Career
In May 1961, he took a job working for Suffolk County District Attorney Garrett H. Byrne and in November 1962 he was made an Assistant District Attorney.[1] He prosecuted 2,500 cases, including a successful manslaughter case against physician Kenneth C. Edelin in 1975 for performing an abortion.[1]
Flanagan resigned his position on December 31, 1977 and ran against Byrne for the position of district attorney.[1] He beat Byrne and three others in the Democratic primary on September 19, 1978 and faced no opposition in the general election.[1] After he resigned in 1992, he became the executive director of the National Association of District Attorneys.[2]
Knights of Columbus
Flanagan joined the Knights of Columbus while at Boston College.[3] He rose through the ranks and was elected State Deputy on May 18, 1980.[3] He served until 1982.[1] His father, James H. Flanagan, was state deputy from 1944 to 1946,[4] making them the only father-son duo to be state deputy in Massachusetts history and only the sixth in the history of the order.[3] His son, Paul A. Flanagan, was elected state deputy in 2018, making them the first three-generation set of state deputies in the history of the Knights of Columbus.[5][6] He went on to become a supreme director.[2]
Personal life
His brother, James H. Flanagan, Jr., was a diocesan priest and his brother Joseph F.X. Flanagan was a Jesuit priest.[4] With his wife Eileen P. Gushue he has four sons and three daughters.[2]
References
- Lapomarda 1992, p. 119.
- Lapomarda 1992, p. 121.
- Lapomarda 1992, p. 120.
- Lapomarda 1992, p. 65.
- Pilot Staff (September 1, 2018). "Mass. Knights install new officers". The Boston Pilot. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
- O'Malley, Sean Patrick (August 10, 2018). "Attending the Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus". Retrieved April 21, 2019.
Works cited
- Lapomarda, Vincent A. (1992). The Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts (second ed.). Norwood, Massachusetts: Knights of Columbus Massachusetts State Council.