John William Potter (October 25, 1918 – October 3, 2013) 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 Northern District of Ohio United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

Education and career

Born in Toledo,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Potter received a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

from the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

in 1940 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 ...

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 1946. He joined the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

, serving from 1946 to 1951 and achieving the rank of captain. Potter was in private practice in Toledo from 1947 to 1969. He was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Toledo from 1961 to 1967. He was an assistant state attorney general of Ohio from 1968 to 1969, and was then a judge on the Ohio Sixth District Courts of Appeals until 1982.

Federal judicial service

On May 5, 1982, Potter was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge William Kernahan Thomas. Potter 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 June 18, 1982, and received his commission on June 21, 1982. 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 August 1, 1992, serving in that status until his death on October 3, 2013, in Toledo.

References

Sources

*
John W. Potter Papers The University of ToledoJohn William Potter's obituary
1918 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American judges Lawyers from Toledo, Ohio Mayors of Toledo, Ohio Judges of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States Army officers University of Toledo alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni United States Army reservists {{US-federal-judge-stub