The Honorable Judge Franklin D. Burgess A Legend on Two Courts
The Honorable Judge Franklin D. Burgess
A Legend on Two Courts
Each month, Chastek Library creates a new display highlighting distinguished alumni, historical events, or legal culture. In February, for Black History Month, Chastek Library’s display recognized the Honorable Franklin D. Burgess. Judge Burgess was an accomplished attorney and a proud Gonzaga alumnus.
He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after attending Eudora Colored High School. After, he went on to attend Gonzaga University and Gonzaga University School of Law. While here, he was a class officer, student body representative and class president. In 1995, he received the Gonzaga Law School Distinguished Judicial Service Award.
Judge Burgess was known for being a legend on two courts. In undergrad, Judge Burgess was a basketball All-American at Gonzaga, leading the nation in scoring in 1961. He is a member of Gonzaga's Basketball Hall of Fame, the state of Washington sports Hall of Fame, the Inland Empire Hall of Fame, and was selected to the U.S. colleges 1986 Silver Anniversary All-America Basketball Team. His Gonzaga basketball jersey was retired in February 2005 and he was inducted into the West Coast Conference Hall of Honor in March 2009.
Judge Burgess later became the Western District of Washington’s first African American U.S. magistrate judge and its second African American federal judge. He was appointed to his position as United States District Judge by President William Clinton in March 1994. Prior to becoming a District Judge, he served as a United States Magistrate Judge for 12 years; Regional Counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Region 10; and a partner in the law firm of Tanner, McGavick, Burgess, et al. He has also been an Assistant City Attorney for Tacoma and Judge pro tem for the Tacoma Municipal Court and the District Court of Pierce County.
Judge Burgess was the recipient of the Loren Miller Bar Association Lifetime Achievement Award and the Outstanding Service Award from the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington. He has been a member of numerous organizations, including the Pierce County, state, and Loren Miller Bar Associations; Tacoma Boys Club; Urban League; Board of Directors of the Boy Scouts; the Board of Regents of Gonzaga University and Shiloh Baptist Church; and past president of the local chapter of the NAACP. Lastly, he also participated in many building projects with Habitat for Humanity, one of his great passions.
