Franklin Cleckley

Franklin Dorrah Cleckley (August 1, 1940 – August 14, 2017) was an American law professor and judge. He was Arthur B. Hodges Professor of Law at West Virginia University College of Law. He taught at the law school from 1969 to 2013. He held the endowed professorship emeritus. Governor Gaston Caperton appointed Cleckley to the bench in 1994. He received an A.B. degree from Anderson College in 1962, a J.D. degree from Indiana University School of Law in 1965, and a LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School in 1969. He also did post-graduate studies at the University of Exeter in England. While serving as a Navy JAG officer he earned the reputation, given by the United States Secretary of Defense, as being the most sought after attorney in Vietnam.

Honors and awards Justice Cleckley established the Franklin D. Cleckley Foundation in 1990, for the purpose of providing assistance for the educational and employment needs of people with prior criminal records. the West Virginia Common Cause Award for Public Service; and the West Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers Public Citizen of the Year Award. He was also the original drafter of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure, the West Virginia Rules of Evidence, and the drafter of the 1984 Revisions of the Local Rules of United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. and the Handbook on West Virginia Criminal Procedure. He co-authored the Litigation Handbook on West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, Health Care and the Law, and Introduction to the West Virginia Criminal Justice System and Its Laws.

Cleckley authored several law review articles for the West Virginia Law Review, including "A Free Market Analysis of the Effects of Medical Malpractice Damage Cap Statutes: Can We Afford to Live with Inefficient Doctors?" (1991–92); "Clearly Erroneous: The Fourth Circuit's Decision to Uphold Removal of a State-Bar Disciplinary Proceeding Under the Federal Officer Removal Statute" (1989–90); "A Modest Proposal: A Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege for West Virginia" (1990–91); and "Tribute to a Champion: Thurgood Marshall" (1991–92).; He wrote a foreword entitled "Never Again" (1996) for an issue of the Race and Ethnic Ancestry Law Digest (later the Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice).

Death Cleckley died at his home in Morgantown, West Virginia, on August 14, 2017, at the age of 77.