Robert Dale Morgan (May 27, 1912 – May 29, 2002) was 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 Central District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois (in case citations, C.D. Ill.) serves the residents of forty-six counties, which are divided into four divisions. The counties are: Adams, Brown, Bureau, Cass, Champaign, C ...

and the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (in case citations, S.D. Ill.) is a United States district court, federal district court covering approximately the southern third of the state of Illinois. Appeals from the ...

Education and career

Born in Peoria,

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 ...

, Morgan 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 from

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. Th ...

in 1934. He received 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

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

in 1937. He was in private practice of law in Peoria from 1937 to 1942. He was a United States Commissioner of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois from 1938 to 1946. He 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 ...

from 1942 to 1946. He was in private practice of law in Peoria from 1946 to 1967. He was Mayor of Peoria from 1953 to 1957.

Federal judicial service

Morgan was nominated by President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

on May 24, 1967, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Frederick Olen Mercer. 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 June 12, 1967, and received his commission the same day. He served as Chief Judge from 1972 to 1979. He 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 March 31, 1979, to the

to a new seat established by 93 Stat. 6. He served as Chief Judge from 1979 to 1982. 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 May 28, 1982. His service was terminated on May 29, 2002, due to his death in Peoria.

Personal

Morgan married Betty Harbers Morgan of Peoria on October 14, 1939; she died in September 2010. They had two sons.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Robert Dale 1912 births 2002 deaths Bradley University alumni Illinois Republicans Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois Mayors of Peoria, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson 20th-century American judges University of Chicago Law School alumni United States Army officers