Roy Winfield Harper (July 26, 1905 – February 13, 1994) 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
and the
.
Education and career
Born on July 26, 1905, in
Gibson
Gibson may refer to:
People
* Gibson (surname)
Businesses
* Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment
* Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based
* Gi ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, Harper received an
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 1929 from the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
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 ...
in 1929 from the
University of Missouri School of Law
The University of Missouri School of Law (Mizzou Law or MU Law) is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The sc ...
. He was an attorney with the Real Estate Appraisal Division of
Shell Oil Company
Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...
from 1929 to 1931. He was in private practice in
Steele, Missouri
Steele is a city in southern Pemiscot County in the Missouri Bootheel of southeastern Missouri, United States. The population was 1,853 at the 2020 census.
History
The Steele post office was in operation from 1896 to 2017. The community has the ...
from 1931 to 1934 and in
Caruthersville, Missouri
Caruthersville is a city in and the county seat of Pemiscot County, Missouri, United States, located along the Mississippi River in the Bootheel region of the state's far southeast. The population was 5,562, according to the 2020 census.
Histo ...
, from 1934 to 1947. Harper was a
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
in the
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
from 1942 to 1945.
Federal judicial service
Harper received a
recess appointment
In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the advi ...
from President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
on August 7, 1947, to a joint seat on the
and the
vacated by Judge
John Caskie Collet. President Truman nominated Harper to a judgeship on November 24, 1947, but 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 ...
did not confirm his nomination, so his service terminated on December 19, 1947. However, President Truman gave him a second recess appointment on December 20, 1947.
[No additional nomination made following recess appointment of December 20, 1947; nomination of November 24, 1947, held over to following session of Congress pursuant to suspension of Rule XXXVIII, paragraph 6, of the Standing Rules of the Senate.] The Senate still did not confirm his nomination, so his service terminated on June 22, 1948. The same day, President Truman gave him yet a third recess appointment, and Truman nominated him again January 13, 1949. The Senate finally confirmed Harper on January 31, 1949, and he received his commission on February 2, 1949. He served as Chief Judge of the Eastern District from 1959 to 1971, and he was a member of the
Judicial Conference of the United States
The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...
from 1965 to 1971. On January 5, 1971, Judge Harper 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 ...
. He was a member of the
Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation
The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (J.P.M.L. or the Panel) is a special body within the United States federal court system which manages multidistrict litigation. It was established by Congress in 1968 by , and has the ...
from 1977 to 1983. Harper died February 13, 1994, in
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
, Missouri.
Note
Bibliography
* Missouri Historical Society St. Louis, Missouri, Roy W. Harper family papers, 1950–1990. 7 boxes; collection contains case files, printed opinions, correspondence, and miscellaneous papers. The collection remained unprocessed as of August 1997.
* University of Missouri and the State Historical Society of Missouri Western Historical Manuscript Collection Columbia, Missouri
* Paul Caruthers Jones papers, 1943–1969; 60 ft.; finding aid; 13 folders pertaining to Harper.
* Forrest Smith papers, 1940–1953; 6,658 folders, 11 vols., and 8 card files; finding aid; represented.
* George A. Spencer papers, 1948–1960; 653 folders, 9 boxes, and 1 vol.; finding aid; restricted; represented.
See also
*
List of United States federal judges by longevity of service
This is a list of Article III United States federal judges by longevity of service. The judges on the lists below were presidential appointees who have been confirmed by the Senate, and who served on the federal bench for over 40 years. It includ ...
References
External links
*
* https://web.archive.org/web/20090210153545/http://harpersinmissouri.com/Page9.html
*
*
*
*
*
LOG OF PRESIDENT TRUMAN’S ELEVENTH VISIT TO KEY WEST, FLORIDA MARCH 7- 27, 1952
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Roy Winfield
1905 births
1994 deaths
Lawyers from St. Louis
University of Missouri alumni
Missouri lawyers
Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
United States district court judges appointed by Harry S. Truman
20th-century American judges
Unsuccessful recess appointments to United States federal courts
People from Caruthersville, Missouri
People from Dunklin County, Missouri
Military personnel from Missouri
United States Army Air Forces officers