Thomas Emmet Clarie (January 1, 1913 – September 24, 1997) 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 District of Connecticut The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeals ...

Education and career

Clarie was born on January 1, 1913, in

Killingly Killingly is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,752 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It consists of the borough of Danielson, Connecticut, Dani ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

,Mark Pazniokas
Judge T. Emmet Clarie Dies: Jurist In Wells Fargo Robbery Trial Was 84
''Hartford Courant'' (September 26, 1997). to his father, Thomas C. Clarie, who was a building contractor and

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

and his mother Kathryn Burns Clarie.Anthony Ramirez
T. Emmet Clarie, 84, Judge At Long Trial of Nationalists
''New York Times'' (September 27, 1997). Clarie received a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

degree in 1933 from

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

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 1938 from Hartford College of Law (now

University of Connecticut School of Law The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. In ...

). He was a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

from 1937 to 1943, serving as Democratic floor leader from 1939 to 1943. He entered private practice in

Danielson Danielson is an American rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey, that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates. Smith has also released solo work as Bro ...

, Connecticut from 1940 to 1961. He was an assistant to the state statute revision commissioner in 1945. He served on the Connecticut State Liquor Commission from 1949 to 1961, as commissioner from 1949 to 1955 and as Chairman from 1955 to 1961. He was Clerk for the

Connecticut Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sena ...

in 1949. He was prosecutor for the Killingly Town Court in Danielson in 1951.

Federal judicial service

Clarie was nominated by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

on September 5, 1961, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 75 Stat. 80. 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 September 14, 1961, and received his commission on September 18, 1961. He served as Chief Judge from 1974 to 1983. 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 1977 to 1980. 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 January 1, 1983. His service terminated on September 24, 1997, due to his death of

viral pneumonia Viral pneumonia is a pneumonia caused by a virus. Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation in one or both of the lungs. The pulmonary alveoli fill with fluid or pus making it difficult to breathe. Pneumonia can be caused by bacteria, vir ...

in Danielson.

Notable case

Clarie's most famous case was the trial of members of the

Puerto Rican nationalist Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to obtain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire from 1493 to 1898 and since then from the United States. A spectrum of pro- autonomy, ...

group

Los Macheteros The ''Ejército Popular Boricua'' ("Boricua Popular/People's Army"), also known as ''Los Macheteros'' ("The Machete Wielders"), is a clandestine militant and insurgent organization based in Puerto Rico, with cells in the states and other natio ...

accused of robbing a Wells Fargo bank in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The C ...

, of nearly $7.6 million. Claire presided over the trial, at which the defense lawyers were

William Kunstler William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 – September 4, 1995) was an American lawyer and civil rights activist, known for defending the Chicago Seven. Kunstler was an active member of the National Lawyers Guild, a board member of the American Civil ...

and

Leonard Weinglass Leonard Irving Weinglass (August 27, 1933 – March 23, 2011) was a U.S. criminal defense lawyer and constitutional law advocate, best known for his defense of participants in the 1960s counterculture. He was admitted to the bar in New Jer ...

. By 1989, most of the 19 defendants were convicted (either at trial or following a guilty plea); three were fugitives who were never captured, one was acquitted, and one defendant's charges were dismissed. Clarie was credited with keeping cool under pressure.

Personal

Although Clarie kept his chambers in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, Connecticut, the state capital, he lived in the rural small town of Danielson in a Colonial-style house on a 220-acre farm, making the 104-mile round trip almost every workday. He considered himself a small-town lawyer. Clarie was married to Gertrude Reynolds Clarie (d. 1995).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarie, Thomas Emmet 1913 births 1997 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives People from Killingly, Connecticut Providence College alumni United States district court judges appointed by John F. Kennedy 20th-century American judges University of Connecticut alumni 20th-century American politicians