James Skelly Wright (January 14, 1911 – August 6, 1988) 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. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...

and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (in case citations, E.D. La.) is a United States federal court based in New Orleans. Appeals from the Eastern District of Louisiana are taken to the United States Court of Ap ...

Education and career

Born on January 14, 1911, in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, Wright 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 ...

in 1931 from

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name o ...

and 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 ...

in 1934 from

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Loyola University New Orleans College of Law is a private law school in New Orleans, Louisiana affiliated with Loyola University New Orleans. Loyola's law school opened in 1914 and is now located on the Broadway Campus of the university in the hi ...

. He was a high school teacher in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

from 1932 to 1936. He was a lecturer at Loyola University New Orleans from 1936 to 1937. He was 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 the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1937 to 1942 and again from 1945 to 1946. He was a

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

from 1942 to 1945. He was in private practice in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1946 to 1948. He was the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1948 to 1949. He was faculty at the Loyola University of New Orleans College of Law from 1950 to 1962.

Eastern District of Louisiana

Wright 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 October 21, 1949, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Wayne G. Borah. He was nominated to the same position by President Truman on January 5, 1950. 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 March 8, 1950, and received his commission on March 9, 1950. His service terminated on April 15, 1962, due to elevation to the District of Columbia Circuit. During his service with the Eastern District of Louisiana, Wright was an important leader during the

New Orleans school desegregation crisis The New Orleans school desegregation crisis was a period of intense public resistance in New Orleans following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in ''Brown v. Board of Education'' that racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. ...

. Wright's first desegregation order had been for the Louisiana State University Law School in 1951. His vigorous enforcement of ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...

'' (1954), however, made him many enemies amongst the predominantly white political and business culture of New Orleans to the extent that his entire family was soon ostracized and isolated from much of New Orleans' society life.

D.C. Circuit Court

Wright 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 February 2, 1962, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

E. Barrett Prettyman Elijah Barrett Prettyman (August 23, 1891 – August 4, 1971) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. His son was American attorney E. Barrett Prettyman Jr. Education and ca ...

. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 28, 1962, and received his commission on March 30, 1962. He served as Chief Judge from 1978 to 1981. He served as a Judge of the

Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals The Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals was established by the United States Congress in December 1971 with exclusive jurisdiction to hear appeals from the decisions of the U.S. district courts in cases arising under the wage and price control pro ...

from 1981 to 1987, serving as Chief Judge from 1982 to 1987. 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 June 1, 1986.

Notable cases

*In ''

Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co. ''Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co.'', 350 F.2d 445 (D.C. Cir. 1965), was a court opinion, written by Judge J. Skelly Wright, that had a definitive discussion of unconscionability as a defense to enforcement of contracts in American contrac ...

'' (1965), Wright interpreted the common law concept of contract

unconscionability Unconscionability (sometimes known as unconscionable dealing/conduct in Australia) is a doctrine in contract law that describes terms that are so extremely unjust, or overwhelmingly one-sided in favor of the party who has the superior bargaining ...

to prevent the exploitation of the poor. This is a major decision in the field of

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

. *In '' Hobson v. Hansen'' (1967), Wright held that tracking in schools compromised the "right to equal educational opportunity" for the District's poor and disadvantaged. *In ''

Javins v. First National Realty Corp. ''Javins v. First National Realty Corp.'', 428 F.2d 1071 (D.C. Cir. 1970), was a case decided by the D.C. Circuit that first established the warranty of habitability in landlord–tenant law. The court determined that if the premises become unin ...

'' (1970), Wright developed the theory of

implied warranty of habitability In common law jurisdictions, an implied warranty is a contract law term for certain assurances that are presumed to be made in the sale of products or real property, due to the circumstances of the sale. These assurances are characterized as warr ...

in the field of lease law. * In ''

Edwards v. Habib In United States landlord-tenant law, ''Edwards v. Habib'', 397 F.2d 687 (D.C. Cir. 1968), was a case decided by the D.C. Circuit that includes the first recognition of retaliatory eviction as a defense to eviction. Factual background Plaintif ...

'' (1969) and '' Robinson v. Diamond Housing Corp.'' (1972), Wright developed the

retaliatory eviction In American landlord–tenant law, a retaliatory eviction is a substantive defense and affirmative cause of action that can be used by a tenant against a landlord. If a tenant reports sanitary violations or violations of minimum housing standard ...

doctrine, prohibiting landlords from evicting tenants who raised housing code violations to authorities. * ''

New York Times Co. v. United States ''New York Times Co. v. United States'', 403 U.S. 713 (1971), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on the First Amendment right of Freedom of the Press. The ruling made it possible for ''The New York Times'' and ''The ...

'', Wright argued in dissent that the Nixon administration could not block the publication of the

Pentagon Papers The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States in the Vietnam War, United States' political and military ...

. The Supreme Court agreed with Wright, and overruled the D.C circuit

Death and legacy

His service terminated on August 6, 1988, due to his death in the Westmoreland Hills neighborhood of Bethesda,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Justice

William J. Brennan Jr. William Joseph "Bill" Brennan Jr. (April 25, 1906 – July 24, 1997) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1956 to 1990. He was the seventh-longest serving justice ...

wrote a memoriam for Judge Wright in the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

''. Wright is recognized for exerting a major influence on the American law of landlord-tenant. Several of his decisions on the D.C. Circuit helped modernize landlord-tenant jurisprudence by incorporating consumer protection principles long accepted in

contract law A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

. The J. Skelly Wright Professorship at

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

is named in his honor.

Notable former clerks

*Richard Cotton, former Executive Vice President and General Counsel,

NBC Universal The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

* Keith P. Ellison, Judge for the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (in case citations, S.D. Tex.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over the southeastern part of Texas. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Texas and has six ad ...

Susan Estrich Susan Estrich (born December 16, 1952) is an American lawyer, professor, author, political operative, and political commentator. She is known for serving as the campaign manager for Michael Dukakis in 1988 (being the first woman to manage the pre ...

, attorney and

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

personality *Richard Fallon,

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

professor * Raymond C. Fisher, Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit *Thomas C. Grey,

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

professor *Michael C. Harper,

Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...

professor *John Herfort, partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP *Curtis Hessler, business executive *Peter J. Kalis,

K&L Gates K&L Gates LLP is an American multinational corporation law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Its namesake firms are Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, a Pittsburgh-ba ...

Chairman and Global Managing Partner, *

Sally Katzen Sally Katzen (born November 22, 1942) is an American lawyer, legal scholar, and government official. Katzen was a member of the Obama-Biden Transition Project's Agency Review Working Group responsible for the Executive Office of the President and ...

, Former official in the Clinton White House *

Randall Kennedy Randall LeRoy Kennedy (born September 10, 1954) is an American law professor at Harvard University and author. He is the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law and his research focuses on the intersection of racial conflict and legal institutions in ...

professor and author *

Michael W. McConnell Michael William McConnell (born May 18, 1955) is an American constitutional law scholar who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 2002 to 2009. Since 2009, McConnell has been a ...

, former Judge for

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Dist ...

*Victoria Radd Rollins, aide to the

Bill Clinton administration Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

*Abraham D. Sofaer, Judge for the Southern District of New York * L. Michael Seidman,

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

professor *Carol Steiker,

professor * David O. Stewart, author and attorney *

Geoffrey R. Stone Geoffrey R. Stone (born 1946) is an American law professor and noted First Amendment scholar. He is currently the Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. Biography Stone completed a B.S. de ...

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

professor *

Donald B. Verrilli Jr. Donald Beaton Verrilli Jr. (born June 29, 1957) is an American lawyer who served as the Solicitor General of the United States from 2011 into 2016. He was sworn into the post on June 9, 2011. On June 6, 2011, the United States Senate confirmed Ve ...

Solicitor General of the United States The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...

John F. Walsh John F. Walsh (born May 28, 1961) is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado from 2010 to 2016. Walsh was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 14, 2010, and sworn in on August 16, 2010. ...

, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado *

Robert Weisberg Robert I. Weisberg is an American lawyer. He is an Edwin E. Huddleson, Jr. Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, and an expert on criminal law and criminal procedure, as well as a leading scholar in the law and literature movement. Weisberg wa ...

professor

References

Sources

External links

Registry of Judge Wright's papers
from the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, J. Skelly 1911 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers Assistant United States Attorneys Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Lawyers from New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans alumni Loyola University New Orleans faculty United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Louisiana United States court of appeals judges appointed by John F. Kennedy United States district court judges appointed by Harry S. Truman