James Paul Churchill (April 10, 1924 – June 29, 2020) 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
.
Education and career
Churchill was born in
Imlay City
Imlay City is a city in Lapeer County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,869 at the 2000 census and 3,585 at the 2020 census.
History
Imlay City was founded on April 1, 1850 by Charles Palmer, the chief engineer of the Port Huro ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. He served 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 1946 in a field artillery battery of the
103rd Infantry Division. His unit was in France, Germany, and Austria. After Army service, he received a
Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...
from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1947 and 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 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 1950. He was in private practice in
Vassar, Michigan from 1951 to 1965. He was a Circuit Judge of the 40th Judicial Circuit of Michigan from 1965 to 1974.
Federal judicial service
On December 2, 1974, Churchill was nominated by President
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
to a seat on the
vacated by Judge
Stephen John Roth. Churchill 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 December 18, 1974, and received his commission on December 20, 1974. He served as Chief Judge in 1989, assuming
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 December 31, 1989.
He died on June 29, 2020, aged 96.
See also
*
List of United States federal judges by longevity of service
This is a list of Article III United States federal judges by longevity of service. The judges on the lists below were presidential appointees who have been confirmed by the Senate, and who served on the federal bench for over 40 years. It includ ...
References
Sources
*
1924 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American judges
21st-century American judges
Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Michigan state court judges
Military personnel from Michigan
People from Imlay City, Michigan
People from Vassar, Michigan
Ross School of Business alumni
United States Army soldiers
United States district court judges appointed by Gerald Ford
University of Michigan Law School alumni
United States Army personnel of World War II
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