Frederick Olen Mercer (March 11, 1901 – April 3, 1966) 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 Illinois The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (in case citations, S.D. Ill.) is a federal district court covering approximately the southern third of the state of Illinois. Appeals from the Southern District of Illinois ...

Education and career

Born in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, Mercer received 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 Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law or UIUC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public university in Champaign, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S. ...

in 1924. He was an assistant state's attorney of

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

, Illinois from 1924 to 1926. He was a county judge of Fulton County from 1926 to 1934. He was in private practice in Lewistown, Illinois from 1934 to 1940. He was in private practice in Canton, Illinois from 1940 to 1956.

Federal judicial service

Mercer was nominated by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

on May 17, 1956, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

J. Leroy Adair Jackson Leroy Adair (February 23, 1887 – January 19, 1956) was a United States representative from Illinois and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Education and career Ada ...

. 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 June 13, 1956, and received his commission on June 19, 1956. He served as Chief Judge from 1958 to 1966. Mercer served in that capacity until his death on April 3, 1966.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer, Frederick Olen 1901 births 1966 deaths Illinois state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers People from Vermont, Illinois University of Illinois College of Law alumni