Talk:James Fitzgerald (American jurist, born 1851)

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Requested move 15 September 2018

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: Moved to James Fitzgerald (American jurist, born 1851). The problem with the previous title was that the disambiguator didn't uniquely identify him. Though several alternatives have been put on the table, the proposed new title seems like it should have some appeal under more than one criterion. It is America-centric rather than state centric and it echoes the NYT obituary in making his judicial service be primary. EdJohnston (talk) 00:26, 26 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

James Fitzgerald (New York state senator) → ~~James Fitzgerald (state senator, born 1851)~~ – To remove unnecessary detail and distinguish from James F. Fitzgerald, who was also a New York state senator. —BarrelProof (talk) 00:27, 15 September 2018 (UTC) --Relisting. EdJohnston (talk) 17:31, 22 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Support move to James Fitzgerald (American politician, born 1851). --IJBall (contribs • talk) 06:55, 16 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]
- Yes, that's probably better. —BarrelProof (talk) 17:28, 20 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]
- Actually, I notice that he was a justice of the New York Supreme Court, and that seems like a higher office than state senator, and he also held that position for much longer. I believe we would not normally refer to a supreme court justice as a "politician", so perhaps it should be "James Fitzgerald (New York supreme court justice)" or "James Fitzgerald (New York Supreme Court justice)" or "James Fitzgerald (American jurist, born 1851)". Note that there is also another James Fitzgerald who was a state supreme court justice, James Martin Fitzgerald of the Alaska Supreme Court. —BarrelProof (talk) 22:14, 20 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure I have a position on those... In general, though, I think it's better if we stay away from sub-national disambiguation (i.e. "New York [something]") as much as possible (as less recognizable to international readers), so of those, I'd probably prefer James Fitzgerald (American jurist, born 1851), though I doubt it's more recognizable than James Fitzgerald (American politician, born 1851)... Also, isn't New York "quirky" where the "Supreme Court" is actually a lesser court in that state?... --IJBall (contribs • talk) 15:04, 22 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

You're right! Apparently the New York Supreme Court is not the supreme court of the state! The supreme court of the state is a different court called the New York Court of Appeals, so being a supreme court justice is not as high an office in New York as it would be in other places. But I still note that in his obituary, The New York Times referred to him as an ex-justice in the headline and greatly emphasized that role over his other positions. It also went into depth about the most notable trial over which he had presided, so I think it is clear that he was more notable as a jurist than as a politician. Also, note that he was a judge for nearly twenty years, while only holding his other positions relatively briefly and earlier in his career. I therefore suggest a move to James Fitzgerald (American jurist, born 1851). —BarrelProof (talk) 21:09, 22 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.