Thurmond Clarke (June 29, 1902 – February 28, 1971) was a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
of the
and the
.
Education and career
Born in
Santa Paula
Santa Paula ( Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa P ...
,
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 ...
, Clarke graduated from
Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans.
Los Angeles High School is a pub ...
and received 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 ...
from the
USC Gould School of Law
The USC Gould School of Law, located in Los Angeles, California, is the law school of the University of Southern California. The oldest law school in the Southwestern United States, USC Law traces its beginnings to 1896 and became affiliated w ...
in 1927.
He was a deputy district attorney of
Los Angeles County, California from 1927 to 1929, and then a deputy city attorney of the City of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
from 1929 to 1932. He was a Judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court from 1932 to 1935, appointed by Governor
James Rolph
James "Sunny Jim" Rolph Jr. (August 23, 1869 – June 2, 1934) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to a single term as the 27th governor of California from January 6, 1931, until his death on June 2 ...
and was elevated to the
Superior Court of Los Angeles County
The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States.
The L ...
by Governor
Frank Merriam
Frank Finley Merriam (December 22, 1865 – April 25, 1955) was an American Republican politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934 until January 2, 1939. Assuming the governorship at the height of the Great Depress ...
, serving in that position from 1935 to 1955.
Federal judicial service
Clarke was nominated by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
on June 21, 1955, to the
, to a new seat authorized by 68 Stat. 8. 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 August 1, 1955, and received his commission on August 3, 1955. He served as Chief Judge in 1966. Clarke was reassigned by
operation of law
The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...
to the
on September 18, 1966, to a new seat authorized by 80 Stat. 75. He served as Chief Judge from 1966 to 1970. In July 1970 at
La Casa Pacifica
La Casa Pacifica (Spanish: ''La Casa Pacífica'', meaning "The House of Peace")Richard Nixon183 – Remarks at a Reception for General Secretary Brezhnev in San Clemente, California June 23, 1973. is a classic California beachfront mansion locat ...
he swore
James Day Hodgson into office as Secretary of Labor for the
Nixon administration
Richard Nixon's tenure as the 37th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974, in the face of almost certain impeachment because of the Watergate Scanda ...
.
Clarke 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 September 1, 1970.
His sentencing practices were criticized as unorthodox and lenient by other judges, such as his predecessor Chief Judge
Peirson Hall.
Personal life
Thurmond Clarke was the son of Judge Robert M. Clarke. After divorcing in 1937, he married again in 1944 to Athalie Richardson Irvine, who was his high school classmate.
He was father to Frances and stepfather to
Joan Irvine Smith.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Thurmond
California state court judges
1902 births
1971 deaths
Judges of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
People from Santa Paula, California
United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower
20th-century American judges
USC Gould School of Law alumni