Andrew Dobbie Christie (1922 – May 28, 1993) was an American jurist. He was a justice and chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court and a justice of the Delaware Superior Court for 35 years.
Early life
editAndy was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1922. His father was John W. Christie, a Presbyterian minister.[1] Christie attended the local public schools, graduating from Mercersburg Academy in 1940.[2]
He matriculated at Princeton University, but left to serve in the United States Army Air Force for three years during World War II.[2] He then returned to Princeton, graduating with a degree in history in February 1947.[2] While at Princeton, he was a member of the Key and Seal Club and the Westminster Society.[2]
He received an LL.B. in 1949 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif worked on the Law Review.[3][1] He was admitted to the bar in 1949.[3]
Career
editChristie served as a law clerk for the Hon. John Biggs Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.[4][1] He started his law career in private practice in Wilmington, Delaware in July 1950.[2][1] In November 1952, Delaware Governor J. Caleb Boggs appointed Christie to be executive director of the State Legislative Reference Bureau.[4] In this capacity, he assisted in revizing the Delaware Code, passed by the Delaware General Assembly in 1953.[3]
Boggs then appointed Christie to the Delaware Superior Court for New Castle County, in May 1957.[3] Christie held that position until March 1983, when Governor Pete du Pont appointed Christie to a seat on the Delaware Supreme Court vacated by the resignation of William T. Quillen.[4] In 1985, Governor Michael N. Castle elevated Christie to the office of chief justice.[4][5] Christie retired from the court in 1992.[4]
Personal life
editChristie married his wife, Carol, in July 1946.[2] They had four children: Andrew D. Christie Jr., George D. Christie, Anne Christie, and Elizabeth Christie.[2]
He received the Bate Farnum Achievement Award from Princeton in 1987.[2]
A year after retiring from the court, Christie was killed in a traffic accident in Arizona, near the New Mexico border, while visiting national monuments with his wife.[5]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 "Andrew D. Christie to Open Law Office". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. 1950-07-19. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-03-26 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Andrew Dobbie Christie '44". Princeton Alumni Weekly. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 Friend, Cecilia (1983-03-04). "Judge Christie Reported Choice for State Supreme Court Vacancy". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-03-26 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Henry R. Horsey and William Duffy, The Supreme Court of Delaware After 1951: The Separate Supreme Court.
- 1 2 "Andrew D. Christie; Ex-Justice, 70", The New York Times (May 31, 1993).