John Garrett Penn (March 19, 1932 – September 9, 2007) 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 Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...

Education and career

Born in

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, Penn's father was a machinist. Penn attended the

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

in 1954. Initially, Penn was a chemistry major but chose to concentrate on law due to the civil rights movement. He then earned 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

Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...

in 1957. He served on the

United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers and who provide legal services to the Army at a ...

from 1958 to 1961 and achieved the rank of first lieutenant. In 1961, Penn joined the tax division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

, becoming assistant chief of the division's general litigation section. He also served as a trial attorney from 1961 to 1965 and a reviewer from 1965 to 1968. Penn served as a judge of the District of Columbia Court of General Sessions from 1970 to 1971. He served as an associate judge of the

Superior Court of the District of Columbia The Superior Court of the District of Columbia, commonly referred to as DC Superior Court, is the trial court for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It hears cases involving criminal and civil law, as well as family court, landlor ...

from 1971 to 1979.

Federal judicial service

Penn 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 January 19, 1979, to a seat on the

which had been vacated by Judge

Joseph Cornelius Waddy Joseph Cornelius Waddy (May 26, 1911 – August 1, 1978) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Early and family life Born in Louisa County, Virginia, Waddy moved to Alexandria, Vi ...

. 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 March 21, 1979, and received his commission on March 23, 1979. He served as Chief Judge from 1992 to 1997. 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 March 31, 1998. Penn served in that capacity until his death on September 9, 2007, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, John Garrett 1932 births 2007 deaths African-American judges Boston University School of Law alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Superior court judges in the United States United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges United States Army officers University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni United States Department of Justice lawyers Judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps