J. Skelly Wright
J. Skelly Wright | |
---|---|
| |
Senior Judge of United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
In office June 1, 1986 – August 6, 1988 | |
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
In office 1978–1981 | |
Preceded by | David L. Bazelon |
Succeeded by | Carl E. McGowan |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
In office March 30, 1962 – June 1, 1986 | |
Appointed by | John F. Kennedy |
Preceded by | E. Barrett Prettyman |
Succeeded by | Douglas H. Ginsburg |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana | |
In office October 21, 1949 – April 15, 1962 | |
Appointed by | Harry S. Truman |
Preceded by | Wayne G. Borah |
Succeeded by | Frank Burton Ellis |
Personal details | |
Born |
James Skelly Wright January 14, 1911 New Orleans, Louisiana |
Died |
August 6, 1988 77) Bethesda, Maryland | (aged
Education |
Loyola University New Orleans (Ph.B.) Loyola University New Orleans College of Law (J.D.) |
James Skelly Wright (January 14, 1911 – August 6, 1988) was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Education and career
Born on January 14, 1911, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Wright received a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1931 from Loyola University New Orleans and a Juris Doctor in 1934 from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. He was a high school teacher in New Orleans from 1932 to 1936. He was a lecturer at Loyola University New Orleans from 1936 to 1937. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1937 to 1942 and again from 1945 to 1946. He was a United States Coast Guard lieutenant commander from 1942 to 1945. He was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1948.[1] He was the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1948 to 1949.[2] He was faculty at the Loyola University of New Orleans College of Law from 1950 to 1962.[1]
Federal judicial service
Wright received a recess appointment from President Harry S. Truman on October 21, 1949, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana vacated by Judge Wayne G. Borah. He was nominated to the same position by President Truman on January 5, 1950. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 8, 1950, and received his commission on March 9, 1950. His service terminated on April 15, 1962, due to elevation to the District of Columbia Circuit.[1]
Wright was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on February 2, 1962, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated by Judge E. Barrett Prettyman. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 28, 1962, and received his commission on March 30, 1962. He served as Chief Judge from 1978 to 1981. He served as a Judge of the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals from 1981 to 1987, serving as Chief Judge from 1982 to 1987. He assumed senior status on June 1, 1986. His service terminated on August 6, 1988, due to his death in the Westmoreland Hills neighborhood of Bethesda, Maryland.[1] Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote a memoriam for Judge Wright in the Harvard Law Review.
Notable cases
During his service with the Eastern District of Louisiana, Wright was an important leader during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis. In 1960, he struck down twenty-nine segregation laws passed by the state legislature, which had also named a committee headed by then Representative Risley C. Triche of Napoleonville to take over operation of Orleans Parish public schools. Wright's first desegregation order had been for the Louisiana State University Law School in 1951. His vigorous enforcement of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), however, made him many enemies amongst the predominantly white political and business culture of New Orleans to the extent that his entire family was soon ostracized and isolated from much of New Orleans' society life.[3]
On the court of appeals, Wright helped to protect the rights of African-Americans in Hobson v. Hansen (eliminating "tracking systems" in schools), and interpreting the concept of contract unconscionability in order to prevent the exploitation of the poor in Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co.[4] He created an implied warranty of habitability in Javins v. First National Realty Corp. (1970).[5]
Honor
The J. Skelly Wright Professorship at Yale Law School, currently held by Heather K. Gerken, is named in his honor.[6]
Notable former clerks
- Keith P. Ellison - U.S. District Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Donald B. Verrilli Jr. - Solicitor General of the United States
- Susan Estrich - Lawyer and Fox News personality
- Michael C. Harper - Professor at Boston University School of Law
- Sally Katzen - Former official in the Clinton White House
- Victoria Radd Rollins - Former official in the Clinton White House
- Michael W. McConnell - Former U.S. Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- L. Michael Seidman - Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center
- David O. Stewart—Author and retired lawyer
- Randall Kennedy - Professor at Harvard Law School and author
- Carol Steiker - Professor at Harvard Law School
- Richard Fallon - Professor at Harvard Law School
- Robert Weisberg - Professor at Stanford Law School
- John Herfort - Partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
- Geoffrey R. Stone - Professor at University of Chicago Law School
- Richard Cotton, former Executive Vice President and General Counsel, NBC Universal
- Raymond C. Fisher, Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Abraham D. Sofaer, former U.S. District Judge, Southern District of New York; former Legal Advisor, State Department
- Curtis Hessler, former Executive Vice President, Times Mirror Corporation; former Vice Chairman, Unisys Corporation
- Thomas C. Grey, Professor at Stanford Law School
- Peter J. Kalis, Chairman and Global Managing Partner, K&L Gates
- John F. Walsh, United States Attorney, District of Colorado
References
- 1 2 3 4 James Skelly Wright at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ "United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Louisiana - USAO-EDLA - Department of Justice". www.justice.gov.
- ↑ Judge James Skelly Wright. http://www.tulanelink.com/tulanelink/skellywright_box.htm, accessed November 21, 2006.
- ↑ James Wright. Answers.com. West's Encyclopedia of American Law, The Gale Group, Inc, 1998. http://www.answers.com/topic/james-wright, accessed November 22, 2006.
- ↑ 428 F.2d 1071.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-07-26. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
Sources
- James Skelly Wright at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
External links
Wikisource has original works written by or about: J. Skelly Wright |
Legal offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Wayne G. Borah |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana 1950–1962 |
Succeeded by Frank Burton Ellis |
Preceded by E. Barrett Prettyman |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 1962–1986 |
Succeeded by Douglas H. Ginsburg |
Preceded by David L. Bazelon |
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 1978–1981 |
Succeeded by Carl E. McGowan |