Donald Roy Colvin (July 2, 1918 – March 12, 1996) was an attorney in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, who clerked for Justice

William O. Douglas William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often c ...

of the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

during the 1945 Term.

Biography

Donald Colvin was born in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, to Emma Louise Seal (August 6, 1891 – December 13, 1972) and Ray Stuckey Colvin (February 4, 1885 – December 17, 1959), a journalist from Illinois who was city editor of the ''

Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...

'', and later the night managing editor of the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

''. The family moved to Seattle, where Donald graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1936. In 1940, Colvin received his degree from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. In 1940, he enrolled at the

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington. The 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings place Washingt ...

, where he was a member of Phi Delta Phi and an editor of the ''Washington Law Review'' at the same time as Vern Countryman. He interrupted his law studies 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 ...

to serve as a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the U.S. Army, from February 1941 to February 1944. He returned to law school and, in 1945, was graduated first in his class. Colvin's clerkship at the U.S. Supreme Court for William O. Douglas during the 1945 Term followed Lucile Lomen, the first woman to clerk and a fellow graduate of Queen Anne High School. In June 1947, he was admitted to the California bar. In the early 1950s, he was counsel to the New Jersey Central Railroad Company in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He later moved to

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

, and practiced law in Los Angeles. In 1955, Colvin pleaded guilty in Spokane County Superior Court, State of Washington, to four charges of grand larceny by check for writing $400 worth of bad checks in February 1955.''Medford Mail Tribune (Oregon)''
June 28, 1955, p. 12 ("Colvin, who is a former attorney for the New Jersey Central Railroad Co., was returned here from New York to face the charges. He also is wanted in Tacoma and Seattle nd Redding, Californiaon similar charges, police explained.") In 1996, Colvin died in Los Angeles, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, Donald R. University of Washington alumni 1918 births 1996 deaths University of Washington School of Law alumni Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War II Lawyers from Los Angeles Lawyers from Seattle Burials at Baltimore National Cemetery Lawyers from Denver United States Army soldiers Military personnel from Colorado

Biography

See also

References