Phillip Sam Figa (July 27, 1951 – January 5, 2008) was an American attorney and jurist 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 District of Colorado The United States District Court for the District of Colorado (in case citations, D. Colo. or D. Col.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are a ...

Early life and education

Born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 ...

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

immigrants,https://commons.stmarytx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=facarticles Figa attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

"through a scholarship caddie program at a nearby country club".Michael L. O’Donnell and Julie M. Walker,
Honorable Phillip S. Figa
, ''Faculty of Federal Advocates Newsletter'' (December 2003), Vol. 6, No. 4. Retrieved 2008-01-11. He received a

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 in economics from Northwestern in 1973, 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

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...

in 1976.

Career

Figa was in private practice in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, from 1976 to 2003. Figa was one of five people recommended by Senators

Ben Nighthorse Campbell Ben Nighthorse Campbell (born April 13, 1933) is an American Cheyenne politician who represented Colorado's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993, and as a United States Senator from Colorado f ...

and

Wayne Allard Alan Wayne Allard (born December 2, 1943) is an American veterinarian and politician who served as a United States Representative (1991–1997) and United States Senator (1997–2009) from Colorado, as well as previously a Colorado State Senator ...

for a seat on the

after

Richard Paul Matsch Richard Paul Matsch (June 8, 1930 – May 26, 2019) was an American judge who served as Senior Status, Senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Education an ...

entered senior status. On June 9, 2003, he was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

for the role.Manny Gonzales,
Judge Figa mourned as fair role model
, ''The Denver Post'' (January 7, 2008). Retrieved 2008-01-11. Figa 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 2, 2003, and received his judicial commission on October 6, 2003.

Illness and death

In March 2007, Figa was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor.Hector Gutierrez,
Federal Judge Figa's family receives 'bad news' about fight with brain cancer
''Rocky Mountain News'' (March 23, 2007). Retrieved 2008-01-11. He continued to serve until his death. He died on January 5, 2008, in his home in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Figa, Phillip Sam 1951 births 2008 deaths Cornell Law School alumni Neurological disease deaths in Colorado Deaths from cancer in Colorado Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado Northwestern University alumni United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush 21st-century American judges