John Thomas Elfvin (June 30, 1917 – January 6, 2009) was an American

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and

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who served as 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 Western District of New York.

Early life and education

Born in Montour Falls,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Elfvin received his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1942 and was a member of

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fraternity there. He earned his

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in 1947 from the Georgetown Law following service in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as an electrical engineer in the Bureau of Ships 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.

Career

Elfvin clerked for Judge

E. Barrett Prettyman Elijah Barrett Prettyman (August 23, 1891 – August 4, 1971) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. His son was American attorney E. Barrett Prettyman Jr. Education and ca ...

of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1947 to 1948. After private practice in

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at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and for several firms in Buffalo, New York, he served three years as

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

from 1955 to 1958. He returned to private practice in Buffalo from 1958 to 1969 during which time he was a member of the Board of Supervisors for Erie County, New York, a member of the Buffalo Common Council. He served as the Minority Leader in 1966. Elfvin served one year on the

Supreme Court of New York The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

in 1969 and returned to private practice before becoming

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for the Western District of New York in 1972.

Federal judicial service

On December 9, 1974, Elfvin 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 United States District Court for the Western District of New York vacated by Judge John Oliver Henderson. Elfvin was confirmed by the

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on December 20, 1974, and received his commission the following day. Elfvin 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 1, 1987, and took inactive senior status, on October 5, 2007, meaning that while he remained a federal judge, he no longer heard cases or participated in the business of the court.

Death

Elfvin died January 6, 2009, at a Lancaster, New York nursing home. He was survived by his wife (since 1960), the former Peggy Pierce, who died in 2012.

References

Sources

* Herbeck, Dan
Retired federal Judge John T. Elfvin dies at 90
''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

''. 6 January 2009. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elfvin, John Thomas 1917 births 2009 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Assistant United States Attorneys Cornell University College of Engineering alumni County legislators in New York (state) Georgetown University Law Center alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York New York (state) city council members Lawyers from Buffalo, New York People from Lancaster, New York People from Montour Falls, New York United States Attorneys for the Western District of New York United States district court judges appointed by Gerald Ford 20th-century American judges United States Navy sailors New York Supreme Court Justices Cravath, Swaine & Moore people