James R. Carrigan (August 24, 1929 – August 15, 2014) 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 District of Colorado The United States District Court for the District of Colorado (in case citations, D. Colo. or D. Col.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are ap ...

and previously was a justice of the Colorado Supreme Court.

Education and career

Born in Mobridge,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, Carrigan received a Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of North Dakota in 1953, 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 North Dakota School of Law in 1953, and a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from New York University School of Law in 1956. He was in private practice in Williston,

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

from 1953 to 1954. He was an assistant professor of law at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

from 1956 to 1959. He was a visiting associate professor at the New York University School of Law in 1958, and at the Washington University School of Law from 1959 to 1960. He was a judicial administrator of the State of Colorado from 1960 to 1961, and was in private practice in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

from 1961 to 1962. He was again a professor of law at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

from 1961 to 1967, returning to private practice in Denver and

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

, Colorado from 1967 to 1976. He was a justice of the Colorado Supreme Court from 1976 to 1979.

Federal judicial service

On June 1, 1979, Carrigan was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado created by 92 Stat. 1629. 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 September 25, 1979, and received his commission on September 26, 1979. 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 October 10, 1994, and served in that capacity until his retirement on August 19, 1995.

Post judicial service

Following his retirement from the bench, Carrigan served as an arbitrator for the Judicial Arbiter Group in Denver.

Death

Carrigan died on August 15, 2014, in Boulder, after suffering a series of strokes.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carrigan, James R. 1929 births 2014 deaths North Dakota lawyers Lawyers from Denver Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers People from Williston, North Dakota People from Mobridge, South Dakota University of North Dakota alumni New York University School of Law alumni University of Denver faculty New York University School of Law faculty Washington University in St. Louis faculty University of Colorado Law School faculty