Jack Edward Tanner (January 28, 1919 – January 10, 2006) 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
and the
.
Education and career
Born in
Tacoma,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
, Tanner was in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, from 1943 to 1945. He worked as a
longshoreman
A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes.
After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...
in Tacoma until his graduation from law school.
He 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 Washington School of Law
The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington.
The 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings place Washingt ...
in 1955. He was in private practice in Tacoma from 1955 to 1978. He was a regional leader of the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
from 1957 to 1965.
Federal judicial service
On January 20, 1978, Tanner was nominated by President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
to a joint seat on the
and the
, vacated by Judge
William Nelson Goodwin. Tanner 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 May 17, 1978, and received his commission on May 19, 1978, becoming the first black federal judge in the northwest United States. On November 8, 1978, Tanner was reassigned to the Western District alone.
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 January 28, 1991, serving in that capacity until his death of
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
, on January 10, 2006, in Tacoma.
See also
*
List of African-American federal judges
This is a list of African Americans who have served as United States federal judges. , 260 African-Americans have served on the federal bench.
United States Supreme Court
United States Courts of Appeals
United States District Courts ...
*
List of African-American jurists
This list includes individuals self-identified as African Americans who have made prominent contributions to the field of law in the United States, especially as eminent judges or legal scholars. Individuals who may have obtained law degrees or ...
*
List of first minority male lawyers and judges in West Virginia
This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in West Virginia. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are men who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first i ...
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Jack Edward
1919 births
2006 deaths
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter
20th-century American judges
African-American judges
United States Army personnel of World War II
University of Washington School of Law alumni
NAACP activists