John Joseph O'Connell (September 8, 1894 – December 16, 1949) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district courts for the following United Sta ...

Education and career

Born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, O'Connell received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

in 1928, 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

Duquesne University School of Law The Thomas R. Kline School of Law is the law school of Duquesne University, a private Catholic university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is approved by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Sch ...

in 1931. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

from 1918 to 1919. He entered private practice in Pittsburgh from 1931 to 1936. He was an assistant solicitor for

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

, Pennsylvania from 1936 to 1943. He was solicitor for Allegheny County from 1944 to 1945.

Federal judicial service

O'Connell 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 ...

on September 12, 1945, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 58 Stat. 796. He 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 October 3, 1945, and received his commission on October 11, 1945. His service terminated on December 16, 1949, due to his death.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, John Joseph 1894 births 1949 deaths Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Harry S. Truman United States Navy personnel of World War I Duquesne University alumni Duquesne University School of Law alumni