Helen Wilson Nies (August 7, 1925 – August 7, 1996) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit after previously serving as a United States Judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.

Education and career

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Nies received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1946. She received 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 in 1948, graduating Order of the Coif.* She was an attorney of the Office of Alien Property of the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. from 1948 to 1951. She was branch counsel of the United States Office of Price Stabilization in Washington, D.C. from 1951 to 1952. She was in private practice of law as a member of a law firm based in Chicago, Illinois while she worked in Washington, D.C., with an office at The Watergate, from 1960 to 1978. She was in private practice of law in Washington, D.C. from 1978 to 1980.

Federal judicial service

Nies was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on May 9, 1980, to a seat on the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals vacated by Judge Donald Edward Lane. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 18, 1980, and received her commission on June 18, 1980. Her service terminated on October 1, 1982, due to reassignment to the Federal Circuit. Nies was reassigned by operation of law on October 1, 1982, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 96 Stat. 25. She served as Chief Judge from 1990 to 1994. She assumed senior status on November 1, 1995. Her service terminated on August 7, 1996, due to her death.

Death

She died on August 7, 1996, her 71st birthday, of

head injuries A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...

sustained in a bicycle crash, in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

, Delaware.

References

External links

*
Federal Judicial Center CCPA entry on Helen W. Nies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nies, Helen Wilson 1925 births 1996 deaths Cycling road incident deaths Lawyers from Bethesda, Maryland Lawyers from Birmingham, Alabama Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judges of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals Road incident deaths in Delaware United States Article I federal judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges University of Michigan Law School alumni 20th-century American women judges