Guy W. Calissi
Encyclopedia
Guy W. Calissi was an American
Democratic Party
politician, prosecutor, lawyer and judge, who served for seven years as mayor of Wood-Ridge, New Jersey
, 16 years as Bergen County, New Jersey
prosecutor and was appointed in 1970 to serve as a judge on New Jersey Superior Court
, a post he served in until his mandatory retirement at age 70 in the year before his death.
, Calissi spent his early years in an orphanage in Kearny, New Jersey
. Offered a college scholarship, he chose to decline it so that he could earn a living and graduated in 1941 from John Marshall Law School
.
in 1947 and served in that position until 1954, when Governor of New Jersey
Robert B. Meyner
named him as Bergen County prosecutor, the first Democrat in decades to serve in that position.
In a 1964 case that was later overturned, Calissi placed a ban on the sale of the John Cleland
book Fanny Hill
in New Jersey. New Jersey Superior Court
judge Morris Pashman
upheld the ban, calling the book "sufficiently obscene to forfeit the protection of the First Amendment of the Constitution." In addition to failing tests of "social value", "prurient interest" and "patently offensive", Pashman ruled that Fanny Hill failed the "hard-core pornography test", noting that the "book may be well-written but still obscene".
As prosecutor, Calissi obtained death sentences for convicted murderers Edgar Smith
and Thomas Trantino
. Smith was convicted in 1957 of the bludgeon
ing of a high school cheerleader, a case that Calissi called Vickie's murder the "most vicious, most brutal and the most sadistic I have ever seen". Convicted of first degree murder in the original case and sentences to death, Smith argued successfully for a new trial on the basis that his confession had been coerced. At a second trial, in June 1971, Smith accepted a deal under which he would plead guilty to second degree murder and be released on parole.
Thomas Trantino was convicted in 1964 for the murder of two Lodi, New Jersey
police officers and sentenced to the electric chair, but his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment following the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States
in 1972 to invalidate death sentences. Trantino ultimately spent 38 years in the prison system, and was not released on parole until 2002, after he had become the longest-serving inmate in the New Jersey penal system.
In 1966, Calissi investigated the deaths of several patients who had been patients at a hospital in Oradell, New Jersey
. The case, later known as the "Dr. X" case, led to the murder trial, and ultimate acquittal, of Dr. Mario Jascalevich
, who had been charged in the murder of several patients after a series of articles in The New York Times
by M. A. Farber
returned the case to public attention.
Governor of New Jersey
Brendan Byrne
named Calissi to New Jersey Superior Court. Calissi served in the post until shortly before his death, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.
. He was survived by his wife, Ethel, as well as three daughters and two sons.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician, prosecutor, lawyer and judge, who served for seven years as mayor of Wood-Ridge, New Jersey
Wood-Ridge, New Jersey
Wood-Ridge is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,626.Wood-Ridge was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 6, 1894, from portions of Bergen Township, based on the results of...
, 16 years as Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
prosecutor and was appointed in 1970 to serve as a judge on New Jersey Superior Court
New Jersey Superior Court
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...
, a post he served in until his mandatory retirement at age 70 in the year before his death.
Early life and education
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Calissi spent his early years in an orphanage in Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
. Offered a college scholarship, he chose to decline it so that he could earn a living and graduated in 1941 from John Marshall Law School
Seton Hall University School of Law
The Seton Hall University School of Law is part of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law School is the only private law school in New Jersey, and is the top-ranked of the three law schools in the state...
.
Career
He was elected as Mayor of Wood-Ridge, New JerseyWood-Ridge, New Jersey
Wood-Ridge is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,626.Wood-Ridge was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 6, 1894, from portions of Bergen Township, based on the results of...
in 1947 and served in that position until 1954, when Governor of New Jersey
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
Robert B. Meyner
Robert B. Meyner
Robert Baumle Meyner of Phillipsburg, New Jersey was an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 44th Governor of New Jersey, from 1954 to 1962...
named him as Bergen County prosecutor, the first Democrat in decades to serve in that position.
In a 1964 case that was later overturned, Calissi placed a ban on the sale of the John Cleland
John Cleland
John Cleland was an English novelist most famous and infamous as the author of Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure....
book Fanny Hill
Fanny Hill
Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure is an erotic novel by John Cleland first published in England in 1748...
in New Jersey. New Jersey Superior Court
New Jersey Superior Court
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...
judge Morris Pashman
Morris Pashman
Morris Pashman was an American Republican Party politician and attorney who served as Mayor of Passaic, New Jersey before spending 23 years as a judge, 10 of them on the New Jersey Supreme Court...
upheld the ban, calling the book "sufficiently obscene to forfeit the protection of the First Amendment of the Constitution." In addition to failing tests of "social value", "prurient interest" and "patently offensive", Pashman ruled that Fanny Hill failed the "hard-core pornography test", noting that the "book may be well-written but still obscene".
As prosecutor, Calissi obtained death sentences for convicted murderers Edgar Smith
Edgar Smith
Edgar Smith is an American convicted murderer, who was once on Death Row for the 1957 murder of fifteen-year-old honor student and cheer leader Victoria Ann Zielinski. Vigorously contesting his conviction through the courts and in the media, Smith became a celebrity, and his case was argued in...
and Thomas Trantino
Thomas Trantino
Thomas Trantino is an American convicted murderer who was sentenced to life in prison for the execution style shooting deaths in 1963 of two police officers in Lodi, New Jersey. He was sentenced to death by electrocution, which was commuted to life in prison after the death penalty was abolished...
. Smith was convicted in 1957 of the bludgeon
Bludgeon
Bludgeon may refer to:* Bludgeon , a fictional character* Bludgeon , a club-like weapon* Crabtree's Bludgeon, a foil to Occam's Razor...
ing of a high school cheerleader, a case that Calissi called Vickie's murder the "most vicious, most brutal and the most sadistic I have ever seen". Convicted of first degree murder in the original case and sentences to death, Smith argued successfully for a new trial on the basis that his confession had been coerced. At a second trial, in June 1971, Smith accepted a deal under which he would plead guilty to second degree murder and be released on parole.
Thomas Trantino was convicted in 1964 for the murder of two Lodi, New Jersey
Lodi, New Jersey
Lodi is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 24,136. The borough of Lodi is governed under the 1923 Municipal Manager Law.Lodi owes its name to the Italian city of Lodi...
police officers and sentenced to the electric chair, but his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment following the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
in 1972 to invalidate death sentences. Trantino ultimately spent 38 years in the prison system, and was not released on parole until 2002, after he had become the longest-serving inmate in the New Jersey penal system.
In 1966, Calissi investigated the deaths of several patients who had been patients at a hospital in Oradell, New Jersey
Oradell, New Jersey
Oradell is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,978. The borough's territory includes a dam on the Hackensack River that forms the Oradell Reservoir...
. The case, later known as the "Dr. X" case, led to the murder trial, and ultimate acquittal, of Dr. Mario Jascalevich
Mario Jascalevich
The "Dr. X" killings were a series of suspicious deaths, by curare poisoning, in 1966 at a Bergen County, New Jersey hospital. A newspaper investigation during the mid-1960s led to the indictment of an Argentina-born physician, Mario Enrique Jascalevich , in 1976...
, who had been charged in the murder of several patients after a series of articles in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
by M. A. Farber
M. A. Farber
Myron A. Farber is an American newspaper reporter for The New York Times, whose investigations into the deaths of several patients at an Oradell, New Jersey hospital led to the murder trial of Dr. Mario Jascalevich, a physician at the hospital who was alleged to have used a powerful muscle...
returned the case to public attention.
Governor of New Jersey
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
Brendan Byrne
Brendan Byrne
Brendan Thomas Byrne is an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey, who served as the 47th Governor of New Jersey, from 1974 to 1982.-Early life and education:...
named Calissi to New Jersey Superior Court. Calissi served in the post until shortly before his death, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Death
Calissi died at age 71 on December 6, 1980, at his home in Glen Rock, New JerseyGlen Rock, New Jersey
Glen Rock is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 11,601.-History:...
. He was survived by his wife, Ethel, as well as three daughters and two sons.