Fernando Joe Gaitan Jr. (born August 22, 1948) is a
Senior United States district judge of the
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Early life and education
Born in
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, Gaitan graduated from
Sumner High School in Kansas City, Kansas in 1966. Gaitan attended
Donnelly College
Donnelly College is a private Catholic college in Kansas City, Kansas. The college offers bachelor's, associate degrees, and Nursing certifications. It is the only college or university in the state designated as a Hispanic-serving institution ...
in Kansas City, Kansas from 1967 to 1968 and 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 ...
from
Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg State University (Pitt State or PSU) is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students (6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students) and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regents.
History
P ...
in
Pittsburg, Kansas in 1970 and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which rou ...
in 1974.
Career
Gaitan was an attorney for
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. It does business as other d.b.a. names in its operating region, which includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and portions of Illinois.
The company is curr ...
from 1974 to 1980. He was a judge on the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri from 1980 to 1986, and then on the
Missouri Court of Appeals
The Missouri Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Missouri. The court handles most of the appeals from the Missouri Circuit Courts. The court is divided into three geographic districts: Eastern (based in St. ...
, Western District, until 1991.
Federal judicial service
On May 16, 1991, Gaitan was nominated by President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
to a seat on the
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri vacated by
Russell Gentry Clark
Russell Gentry Clark (July 27, 1925 – April 17, 2003) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Education and career
Born in Oregon County, Missouri, Clark was a lieutenant ...
. Gaitan 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 July 18, 1991, and received his commission on August 2, 1991. He served as Chief Judge from 2007 to 2014. He took
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 3, 2014.
See also
*
List of African-American jurists
References
Sources
*
1948 births
Living people
African-American judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush
20th-century American judges
Missouri state court judges
Missouri Court of Appeals judges
Pittsburg State University alumni
University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni
21st-century American judges
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