John David Clifford Jr. (May 15, 1887 – November 18, 1956) 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. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Maine The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (in case citations, D. Me.) is the U.S. district court for the state of Maine. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of ...

Education and career

Born in

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ) is the List of municipalities in Maine, second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the sta ...

, Clifford received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

in 1910 and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

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

in 1913. Clifford practiced law in Lewiston from 1914 until 1947. He had been active in the Democratic Party prior to his federal appointments and was a member of the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

from 1915 to 1916. 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 ...

for the District of Maine from 1933 to 1947.

Federal judicial service

On January 10, 1947, Clifford was nominated by 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. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge John A. Peters. Clifford was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on March 14, 1947, and received his commission on March 24, 1947. He held that office until his death on November 18, 1956.

Family

On July 14, 1915, he married Lucile E. Smith of

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, the daughter of Rep. John M. C. Smith. Clifford's nephew, Robert W. Clifford, son-in-law, Thomas E. Delahanty, and grandson, Thomas E. Delahanty II, have been judges in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. His grandson, Thomas E. Delahanty II, has held the

position twice.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, John David Jr. 1887 births 1956 deaths Bowdoin College alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni United States attorneys for the District of Maine Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maine United States district court judges appointed by Harry S. Truman People from Lewiston, Maine 20th-century members of the Maine Legislature