Quote:
Originally Posted by patrickt
I'm curious. I use titles for people who were once a judge, a president, a governor. President Clinton is no longer president but I believe he keeps the title. President Truman will always be a president.
This morning I was reading the news and saw, "Former Representative Jefferson...." The representative in question is in prison.
#hen does a judge become a former judge or a president become the former president? Is it strictly the users preference or is there some sort of rule to cover this?
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If you are addressing the individual directly, in person or in a letter, you would use the title as a courtesy. If you're talking about the person, as in the news article, you'd indicate "former" initially. Most newspapers would then use only the last name, no title at all, for subsequent mentions.