James
Economos
Class of 1988
Background:
James P. Economos was born February 18, 1908, in Chicago,
Illinois. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting
from the University of Illinois in 1930, his Doctor of Jurisprudence
degree from the University of Illinois in 1931, and a HH.D.
degree from Lewis University, Romeoville, Illinois, in 1979.
Professional
Experience:
Mr. Economos was a practicing lawyer for more than 50 years.
He established the American Bar Association's Traffic Court
Program in 1942 and served as the director until 1972. From
1972 until his death in 1985, he continued to serve as a member
of the Traffic Court Program Committee, which governed the
program. From 1931 until 1980, he was in private practice.
Career
Highlights:
James P. Economos is known throughout the world as "Mr.
Traffic Court." His national reform efforts made traffic
courts a respected force for traffic safety. He fought "cash
register justice" by emphasizing judicial responsibility
and professionalism, while devising management systems to
deter ticket-fixing and speed case processing. Arthur T. Vanderbilt,
the great reformer who served as American Bar Association
(ABA) president and later as New Jersey chief justice, first
interested Jim Economos in traffic court improvement in the
late 1930s. In 1943, when the United States was losing more
young soldiers in traffic accidents than in combat, he began
the ABA Traffic Court Program to save manpower and reduce
fatalities. He established the first continuing education
program for judges, planned the first application of computers
to court administration, proposed the first anti-drunk driving
law based on percentages of alcohol in the driver's blood,
and popularized the Model Rules Governing Procedure in Traffic
Cases, which did much to eliminate ticket-fixing nationwide.
He was the winner of numerous awards for his traffic safety
and court reform efforts. He served as a director of the National
Safety Council from l966-l977 and served as vice president
for traffic from l968-77. He was chairman of the National
Commission on Alcohol and Drugs from l959-6l.
