Luther Merritt Swygert (February 5, 1905 – March 16, 1988) 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 ...

and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana (in case citations, N.D. Ind.) was created in 1928 by an act of Congress that split Indiana into two separate districts, northern and southern. As part of the act, the Northern Dist ...

Education and career

Born in Miami County,

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 ...

, Swygert 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

Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among the nation's "Top 1 ...

in 1927. He was in private practice in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

from 1928 to 1931, and was then a deputy prosecuting attorney of Lake County, Indiana from 1931 to 1933. He was an

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 ...

of the Northern District of Indiana from 1934 to 1943.

Federal judicial service

Swygert was nominated by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

on September 29, 1943, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Thomas Whitten Slick. 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 October 14, 1943, and received his commission on October 16, 1943. He served as Chief Judge from 1954 to 1961. His service terminated on October 10, 1961, due to elevation to the Seventh Circuit. Swygert was nominated by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

on September 18, 1961, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 75 Stat. 80. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 23, 1961, and received his commission on September 29, 1961. He served as Chief Judge from 1970 to 1975. 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 July 1, 1981. His service terminated on March 16, 1988, due to his death.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swygert, Luther Merritt 1905 births 1988 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt 20th-century American judges Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by John F. Kennedy Assistant United States Attorneys Notre Dame Law School alumni