James Dickson Phillips Jr. (September 23, 1922 – August 27, 2017) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Early life and education

Born in Scotland County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, Phillips grew up in Laurinburg, North Carolina and attended its public schools. He graduated from high school in 1939 as the

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is tradi ...

of his graduating class. He earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in 1943 from

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

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 ...

in 1948 from the

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Carol ...

, where he was associate editor of the school's law review and a member of the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

Military service

Phillips was a

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

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 ...

from 1943 until 1946. He served as a rifle platoon leader in the

17th Airborne Division The 17th Airborne Division, "The Golden Talons", was an airborne infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, commanded by Major General William M. Miley. It was officially activated as an airborne division in April 1943 bu ...

's 513th Parachute Regiment while it took part in three European campaigns: the Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe. Following a parachute drop over the

Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sourc ...

on March 28, 1945, Phillips was wounded, evacuated and remained hospitalized until the end of

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 ...

. Phillips ultimately was awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

and a Presidential Unit Citation.

Career

Phillips served as the assistant director of the Institute of Government in

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

, North Carolina from 1948 until 1949, and then he worked in private law practice in Laurinburg from 1949 until 1955. From 1955 until 1959, he worked in private law practice in Fayetteville, North Carolina. From 1960 until 1964, Phillips was a lecturer and an associate professor of law at the University of North Carolina School of Law. He then became a professor of law at the same institution from 1964 until 1978, specializing in procedural law. He concurrently served as the school's dean from 1964 until 1974.

Federal judicial service

Phillips 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 ...

on July 20, 1978, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated by Judge

James Braxton Craven Jr. James Braxton Craven Jr. (April 3, 1918 – May 3, 1977) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the W ...

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 August 11, 1978, and received commission the same day. 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, 1994, serving in that status until his death at his home in Chapel Hill. From 1994 to 1995 he had as a law clerk

Mitchell Berman Mitchell N. Berman is the Leon Meltzer Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Professor of Philosophy. He is also the Co-Director of the Institute for Law & Philosophy. Biography Berman attended Harvard University (A.B ...

, who later became a Professor of Law at the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, James Dickson Jr. 1922 births 2017 deaths People from Laurinburg, North Carolina 20th-century American judges United States Army personnel of World War II Davidson College alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit North Carolina lawyers United States Army officers United States court of appeals judges appointed by Jimmy Carter University of North Carolina School of Law alumni University of North Carolina School of Law faculty Deans of law schools in the United States