Robert Porter Patterson Jr. (July 11, 1923 – April 21, 2015) 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
.
Early life and career
Born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
on July 11, 1923,
the son of
United States Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Se ...
Robert P. Patterson, Patterson Jr. 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 ...
Air Corps from 1942 to 1956, during which time 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 from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
in 1947 and 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
Columbia Law School in 1950. He was in private practice in New York City from 1950 to 1952, then served as assistant counsel to the New York State Crime Commission from 1952 to 1953, and as 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 ...
for Southern District of New York from 1953 to 1956. He was also an assistant counsel to the United States Senate Banking and Currency Committee in 1954. He was in private practice in New York City again from 1956 (joining the firm founded by his father, Patterson, Belknap & Webb - later
Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler) to 1988, working as a special hearing officer for
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
s in the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
from 1961 to 1968, and as minority counsel to a Select Committee Pursuant to
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
Resolution Number 1 in 1967.
Federal judicial service
In March 1988, New York Democratic Senator
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as an ...
recommended Patterson, a Republican, for a seat on the United States District Court as part of a bipartisan deal between him and New York's other senator, Republican
Alfonse D'Amato
Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American politician born in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He served as United States Senator for New York between 1981 and 1999. He subsequently founded a lobbying firm, Park Strategies.
...
, that permitted New York's senator from the party that was not in the White House to select a small number of federal judges from New York.
Similar deals have been worked out over the years between New York's senators to pave the way for nominations of
Sonia Sotomayor and
John E. Sprizzo
John Emilio Sprizzo (December 23, 1934 – December 16, 2008) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Biography
Early life
Sprizzo was born in Brooklyn, New York, where his f ...
, both of whom also were recommended by minority-party senators from New York and ultimately were nominated by the president and confirmed to the federal bench.
On June 14, 1988, President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
nominated Patterson to a seat on the
vacated by Judge
Whitman Knapp. On August 10, 1988 the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary reported on Patterson's nomination on a voice vote without dissent.
The next day, however, Republican Senator
Gordon Humphrey
Gordon John Humphrey (born October 9, 1940) is an American politician from New Hampshire who served two terms in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1979 to 1990, and twice ran for Governor of New Hampshire, though both bids were unsuccessful.
E ...
placed a hold on Patterson's nomination and subsequently queried the nominee about his positions on
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
.
Ultimately, Patterson 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 5, 1988, and received his commission the following day.
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 December 31, 1998 and died on April 21, 2015 at the age of 91.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Robert Porter Jr.
1923 births
2015 deaths
Assistant United States Attorneys
Columbia Law School alumni
Harvard College alumni
Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
New York (state) lawyers
New York (state) Republicans
Lawyers from New York City
United States Army Air Forces soldiers
United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
20th-century American judges
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler people
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II