Latham Castle (February 27, 1900 – March 10, 1986) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of Il ...

Education and career

Born in

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, Castle was 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 ...

towards the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in 1918, and then received 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

Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, ...

in 1924. He was in private practice in Sandwich from 1924 to 1925, and was a city attorney of Sandwich from 1925 to 1928, becoming a corporation counsel of

Sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplata ...

, Illinois in 1928. He was then a state's attorney of

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missouri ...

, Illinois from 1928 to 1940, becoming an assistant state attorney general of Illinois from 1940 to 1942. He was a County judge for DeKalb County from 1942 to 1952, and was then the

Illinois Attorney General The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the attorney ...

from 1952 to 1959.

Personal

In May 1931, Latham married Georgiana Whitcomb, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Card Whitcomb who was the President of the

Geo D. Whitcomb Company The Geo D. Whitcomb Company was founded by George Dexter Whitcomb (1834–1914), of Chicago, Illinois, who started a modest machine shop in 1878, and began the manufacture of coal mining machinery, laying the foundation for the concern that beca ...

of Rochelle, Illinois.

Federal judicial service

On February 26, 1959, Castle was nominated by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Philip J. Finnegan Philip J. Finnegan (June 25, 1886 – January 4, 1959) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Education and career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Finnegan received a J.D. from the University ...

. Castle 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 April 29, 1959, and received his commission on April 30, 1959. He served as Chief Judge from 1968 to 1970, 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 February 26, 1970, and serving in that capacity until his death on March 10, 1986.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castle, Latham 1900 births 1986 deaths Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower 20th-century American judges Illinois Attorneys General Illinois state court judges People from Sandwich, Illinois United States Army soldiers Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers