Francis Gordon Caffey (October 28, 1868 – September 20, 1951) 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 Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a United States district court, federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York (state), New York ...

Education and career

Born on October 28, 1868, in Gordonville,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, Caffey received an Artium Magister degree in 1887 from Howard College (now

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

), 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 in 1891 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, an Artium Magister degree in 1892 from the same institution and attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. He was a

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in the Third Alabama Volunteer Infantry during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. He entered private practice in Montgomery, Alabama from 1894 to 1902. He was Judge Advocate General for the office of the

Governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

from 1900 to 1902. He returned to private practice in

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

from 1902 to 1912. He was a solicitor for the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

from 1913 to 1917. He was the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Southern District of New York from 1917 to 1921. He returned to private practice in New York City from 1921 to 1929.

Allegations of political advocacy as United States Attorney

Caffey briefly gained notoriety when his name was associated with possible political advocacy on the part of the Department of Justice. Just two weeks before the 1920 election,

John R. Rathom John Revelstoke Rathom (1868–1923) was an Australian-American journalist, editor, and author based in Rhode Island at the height of his career. In the years before America entered World War I, Rathom assisted British Intelligence at Wellington H ...

, publisher of the

Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...

, charged that the Democratic candidate for Vice President,

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, had acted improperly while Assistant Secretary of the Navy in releasing sailors convicted on morals charges from

Portsmouth Naval Prison Portsmouth Naval Prison is a former U.S. Navy and Marine Corps prison on the grounds of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) in Kittery, Maine. The building has the appearance of a castle. The reinforced concrete naval prison was occupied from 190 ...

. Caffey, once the Attorney General had telegraphed his authorization, released a lengthy document from Justice Department files that discredited Rathom. A report in the ''New York Times'' suggested that he may have acted with undue enthusiasm: "Some surprise was shown at the partment

f Justice F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. His ...

..that District Attorney Caffey had given the entire Rathom letter to the newspapers. He had been authorized, it was said, to make public 'excerpts'".

Federal judicial service

Caffey was nominated by President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

on April 18, 1929, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 45 Stat. 1317. 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 April 29, 1929, and received his commission on April 30, 1929. 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 October 31, 1947. His service terminated on September 20, 1951, due to his death in

Verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas a ...

, Alabama.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caffey, Francis Gordon 1868 births 1951 deaths People from Lowndes County, Alabama Harvard University alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York United States district court judges appointed by Herbert Hoover 20th-century American judges Alabama National Guard personnel National Guard (United States) officers