William Morris Sparks (April 28, 1872 – January 7, 1950) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of ...

Education and career

Born in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, Sparks received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

in 1896, attended Indiana Law School (now

Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 2001 ...

), and read law to enter the Bar in 1896. He was a deputy prosecuting attorney of Rush County, Indiana from 1896 to 1898, then entered private practice in Rushville, Indiana from 1897 to 1901. He was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1901 to 1903. He was a Judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit Court of Indiana from 1904 to 1910, returning to private practice in Rushville from 1910 to 1914, and again assuming his Circuit Court judgeship from 1914 to 1929.

Federal judicial service

On October 25, 1929, Sparks was nominated by President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Albert B. Anderson. Sparks 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 31, 1929, and received his commission the same day. He served as Chief Judge and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States in 1948, assuming

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on November 13, 1948. Sparks served in that capacity until his death on January 7, 1950, in Rushville.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sparks, William Morris 1872 births 1950 deaths Indiana state court judges Members of the Indiana House of Representatives Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Herbert Hoover 20th-century American judges DePauw University alumni Indiana University alumni United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law