Valdemar Aguirre Cordova (December 6, 1922 – June 18, 1988) 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 Arizona.

Education and career

Born in Phoenix,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, Cordova 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1940 to 1945. Serving 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 ...

as a Lieutenant later in the war, he was shot down during a mission over

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and captured. He subsequently spent 18 months in

Stalag Luft I Stalag Luft I was a German World War II prisoner-of-war (POW) camp near Barth, Western Pomerania, Germany, for captured Allied airmen. The presence of the prison camp is said to have shielded the town of Barth from Allied bombing. About 9,000 ...

near Barth, Germany. After being liberated and discharged from the army, Cordova 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 the

James E. Rogers College of Law University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law is the law school at the University of Arizona located in Tucson, Arizona and was the first law school founded in the State of Arizona, opening its doors in 1915. Also known as University of Ar ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in 1950. He was in private practice in Phoenix from 1950 to 1965. He was a superior court judge in Maricopa County, Arizona from 1965 to 1967, and from 1976 to 1979, returning in the interim to private practice in Phoenix.

Federal judicial service

On April 30, 1979, Cordova was nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of Arizona created by 92 Stat. 1629. 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 19, 1979, and received his commission on June 21, 1979. On or about April 20, 1984, the president certified Cordova involuntarily as disabled pursuant to the act of September 2, 1957, 71 Stat. 586. The certification was due to the effect of a serious

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

Cordova suffered earlier in 1984. Due to his involuntary certification of disability, Cordova ceased to perform any judicial duties, but continued to remain in active judicial status until his death.

Death

Cordova died on June 18, 1988, from continuing complications of his 1984 stroke.

Scholarship

On March 1, 2018, the

announced the creation of the Honorable Judge Valdemar Aguirre Cordova Scholarship, created by a $100,000 gift from the Arizona Hispanic Bar Association. The scholarship will be available to students studying law at the University of Arizona.

References

Sources