Richard Gaylore Stearns (born June 27, 1944) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Early life

Born in Los Angeles, California, Stearns received a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1968, a Master of Letters degree (Political Philosophy) from

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, in 1971, 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

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1976.

Career

Stearns worked on the George McGovern presidential campaign, 1972, and later became a special assistant to McGovern from 1972 to 1973. He was a speech writer in the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1976. He worked in the Norfolk County (Massachusetts) District Attorney's office from 1976 to 1982. 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 District of Massachusetts from 1982 to 1990. He was an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of Massachusetts from 1990 to 1993.

Federal judicial service

On October 27, 1993, Stearns was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated by John Joseph McNaught. Stearns was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 20, 1993, and he received his commission on November 24, 1993. Clinton had originally wanted to appoint Stearns

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a United States' federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI Director is appointed for a single ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stearns, Richard G. 1944 births Living people Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Assistant United States Attorneys American Rhodes Scholars Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts Massachusetts Superior Court justices People from Los Angeles Stanford University alumni United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges