Donald James Porter (March 24, 1921 – February 17, 2003) 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 South Dakota The United States District Court for the District of South Dakota (in case citations, D.S.D.) is the United States District Court or the Federal district court, whose jurisdiction for issues pertaining to federal law or diversity for the state of ...

Education and career

Born in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, Porter received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship univ ...

in 1942 and 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 the

University of South Dakota School of Law The University of South Dakota School of Law also known as University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law or USD Law in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, is a professional school of the University of South Dakota and the only law school in ...

in 1943. He was in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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 1943 to 1946. He was staff attorney of the Office of Temporary Controls, in

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...

, South Dakota, in 1946. He was also staff attorney of the Office of Temporary Controls, in

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, in 1947. He was in private practice, in

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

, South Dakota, from 1947 to 1959. He was the state attorney of

Brule County Brule County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,247. Its county seat is Chamberlain. History Brule County was created on January 14, 1875, of territory partitioned from Charles Mix County ...

, South Dakota, from 1948 to 1952. He served as a South Dakota state representative, from 1955 to 1957. He was the state attorney of Brule County, from 1957 to 1959. He was in private practice in

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, South Dakota, from 1959 to 1977. He was an associate justice of the

South Dakota Supreme Court The South Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of South Dakota. It is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices appointed by the List of Governors of South Dakota, governor. One justice is selected from each of five ...

, from 1977 to 1979.

Federal judicial service

Porter was nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, on March 15, 1979, to the

, to a new seat created by 92 Stat. 1629. He 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 May 10, 1979, and received his commission on May 11, 1979. He served as Chief Judge from 1985 to 1991. He assumed

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 March 16, 1992, taking inactive senior status in 1993. While he remained a federal judge, he no longer heard cases or participated in the business of the court. He remained in that status until his death.

Notable law clerk

Among the judicial law clerks that served Porter was

Roberto Lange Roberto Antonio Lange (born April 22, 1963) is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. Early life and education Born in Pamplona, Spain, Lange was raised on a family farm ne ...

Death

Porter died on February 17, 2003, in Pierre of complications of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Donald James 1921 births 2003 deaths People from Madison, South Dakota Members of the South Dakota House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges Justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court People from Pierre, South Dakota United States Army personnel of World War II University of South Dakota School of Law alumni People from Chamberlain, South Dakota