Albert Wheeler Coffrin (December 21, 1919 – January 13, 1993) was a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
United States District Court for the District of Vermont.
Education and career
Born in
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, Coffrin received an
Artium Baccalaureus
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
in 1941 and was a lieutenant in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, from 1942 to 1945. He received a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
from
Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...
in 1947, entering private practice in Burlington from 1947 to 1951. He again served in the Navy during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, from 1951 to 1952, thereafter returning to private practice in Burlington until 1972.
Federal judicial service
On May 3, 1972, Coffrin was nominated by President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
to a seat on the
United States District Court for the District of Vermont vacated by Judge
Bernard Joseph Leddy
Bernard Joseph Leddy (March 18, 1910 – January 9, 1972) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.
Education and career
Leddy was born in Underhill, Vermont on March 18, 1910, a son of J ...
. Coffrin was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on June 8, 1972, and received his commission the next day. He served as Chief Judge from 1983 to 1988, assuming
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
on January 31, 1989, and serving in that capacity until his death on January 13, 1993, in Burlington.
He was buried at Burlington's
Lakeview Cemetery
Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...
.
References
External links
*
Albert W. Coffrin, Federal Judge, 73 New York Times, January 16, 1993
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffrin, Albert Wheeler
1919 births
1993 deaths
People from Burlington, Vermont
Military personnel from Vermont
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century American judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont
Vermont lawyers
United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon
United States Navy officers
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy personnel of the Korean War
Middlebury College alumni
Cornell Law School alumni
Burials at Lakeview Cemetery (Burlington, Vermont)