Frank Gordon Theis (June 26, 1911 – January 17, 1998) 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 Kansas The United States District Court for the District of Kansas (in case citations, D. Kan.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Kansas. The Court operates out of the Robert J. Dole United States Courthouse in Kansas Ci ...

Education and career

Born in

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

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 ...

, Theis received a

Bachelor of Arts 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 the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

in 1933 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 Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

in 1936. He was in private practice in Arkansas City, Kansas from 1936 to 1937, 1939 to 1950, and 1952 to 1967. He was an attorney for the Kansas Tax Commission from 1937 to 1939. He was deputy county attorney of Cowley County, Kansas from 1942 to 1946. He was chief counsel of the

Office of Price Stabilization An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

for Kansas from 1950 to 1952. He was city attorney of Arkansas City from 1955 to 1959.

Senate campaign

Theis was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the Kansas 1960 United States Senate elections.

Federal judicial service

Theis was nominated by President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

on January 16, 1967, to the

, to a new seat created by 80 Stat. 75. 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 March 2, 1967, and received his commission on March 4, 1967. He served as Chief Judge from 1977 to 1981. 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 July 31, 1981. Theis served in that capacity until his death on January 17, 1998.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Theis, Frank Gordon 1911 births 1998 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers University of Kansas alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Crawford County, Kansas Kansas lawyers