James Lowell Oakes (February 21, 1924 – October 13, 2007) was a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate ju ...

and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Vermont The United States District Court for the District of Vermont (in case citations, D. Vt.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose jurisdiction is the federal district of Vermont. The court has locations in Brattleboro, ...

Education and career

Born on February 21, 1924, in Springfield,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, Oakes received an

Artium Baccalaureus 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 1945 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

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 Ch ...

in 1947 from

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 c ...

. He served as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge Harrie B. Chase of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1947 to 1948 and from 1949 to 1950. He was in private practice in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from 1948 to 1949. He was in private practice in Brattleboro,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

from 1950 to 1966 and from 1969 to 1970. He was a member of the Vermont Senate from 1961 to 1965. He was Attorney General of the State of Vermont from 1967 to 1969.James Oakes Was Appointed Federal Judge by President Nixon
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Federal judicial service

Oakes was nominated by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

on March 31, 1970, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Ernest W. Gibson Jr. 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 po ...

on April 23, 1970, and received his commission on April 24, 1970. His service terminated on June 5, 1971, due to his elevation to the Second Circuit. Oakes was nominated by President Nixon on May 3, 1971, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Sterry R. Waterman. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 20, 1971, and received his commission on May 27, 1971. He served as Chief Judge from 1989 to 1992 and served as 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 ...

for the same period. He assumed

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 June 30, 1992. His service terminated on October 13, 2007, due to his death in

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Other service and legacy

Oakes served as a member of the

Vermont Law School Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) is a private law and public policy graduate school in South Royalton, Vermont. It offers several degrees, including Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law, Master of Environmental Law ...

Board of Trustees from 1976 until 1994. His many incisive opinions helped to shape Vermont's singular role in the development of environmental law, including his ruling in ''Conservation Society of Southern Vermont v. Volpe'' (the Route 7 Case) and ''Southview Associates v. Bongartz'' (the Deeryard Case).

References

Sources

External links

* 1924 births 2007 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Richard Nixon 20th-century American judges Vermont Attorneys General Vermont state senators California lawyers Politicians from Springfield, Illinois Harvard Law School alumni People from Brattleboro, Vermont {{US-federal-judge-stub