Franklin Cleckley

Franklin Dorrah Cleckley (August 1, 1940 – August 14, 2017) was an American lawyer. He was the 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. 
Cleckley was born in Huntington, West Virginia. 
Cleckley became the first African-American to serve as a Justice on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, when Governor Gaston Caperton appointed him to the position in 1994. Justice Cleckley served on the Court until 1996.
Cleckley died at his home in Morgantown, West Virginia, on August 14, 2017, aged 77.