Phyllis Adele Kravitch (August 23, 1920 – June 15, 2017) 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. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

and later the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Education and career

Kravitch was born in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, one of four daughters of Aaron Kravitch, an attorney, and Ella B. Wiseman. She attended Armstrong Junior College in Savannah receiving an

Associate of Arts An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

degree in 1939. She later obtained her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...

in 1941. She graduated with 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 the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...

in 1943, her father Aaron's ''alma mater'' (Law 1917). At the University of Pennsylvania she served on the

Law Review A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also pro ...

Board of Editors. She was in private practice from 1944 to 1976 and then served from 1977 to 1979 as a judge of the

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

of the Eastern Judicial Circuit of Georgia.

Federal judicial service

Kravitch 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

vacated by Judge

Lewis Render Morgan Lewis Render Morgan (July 14, 1913 – November 15, 2001) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and previously was a United ...

. She 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 her commission on March 23, 1979, becoming the third woman to serve as a United States Circuit Judge. Her service terminated on October 1, 1981, due to reassignment. Kravitch was reassigned by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

on October 1, 1981, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 94 Stat. 1994. She 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 December 31, 1996. Her service terminated on June 15, 2017, due to her death at the

Piedmont Hospital Piedmont Atlanta Hospital is a 643 bed, non-profit hospital located at 1968 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, Georgia. History Piedmont was established in 1905 as the Piedmont Sanitarium, the successor to Amster's private sanitorium, in the former mansi ...

in Atlanta."Judge Phyllis Kravitch dies, recalled as small in stature with giant reputation"
Savannah Now.com, June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2017.

Feeder judge

Four of Kravitch's

law clerks A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

went on to clerk at the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, including Steven L. Chanenson, Beth Brinkmann, Joseph L. Hoffmann and Paul H. Schwartz.

Later years and death

Kravitch assumed

on December 31, 1996. On June 15, 2017, Kravitch died at

in Atlanta.

References

External links

Oral History of Phyllis A. Kravitch
conducted by Anne Emanuel, Laurie Kotz, July–August 2013. Senior Lawyers Division, American Bar Association. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kravitch, Phyllis A. 1920 births 2017 deaths People from Savannah, Georgia 20th-century American judges Armstrong State University alumni Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Goucher College alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Jimmy Carter University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Superior court judges in the United States 20th-century American women judges