UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MAINE
The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts
established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. A district court was created in
each of the eleven states that had ratified the Constitution by September,
1789, as well as in Maine (then part of Massachusetts) and Kentucky (then
still part of Virginia). Although the Court sat primarily in Portland, sessions
were also held in Pownalborough and Wiscasset during the first half of the
nineteenth century. In 1843, a term of court was first authorized to be held
in Bangor. There was only one judge in the District until an additional judgeship
was authorized in 1978. A third judgeship was authorized in 1990.
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David Sewall was the first District
Court Judge for Maine, appointed by President Washington on September 26,
1789. A graduate of Harvard College and an experienced judge, Judge Sewall,
who was born in York, Maine, previously served as an associate justice on
the Supreme Court of Massachusetts from 1777-1789. He resigned from the District
Court on January 9, 1818.
At the time Albion Keith Parris, from Hebron, Maine, was
appointed the second District Judge in Maine, he was only 30 years old and
was serving as a member of Congress. He resigned from the Court in 1821 and
served six terms as Governor of the State of Maine and later, served as Comptroller
of the Treasury through the administrations of Presidents Van Buren, Harrison,
Tyler and Polk. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College class of 1806.
Ashur Ware was appointed
to the Court by President Monroe in 1822 and served with distinction, particularly
in the field of admiralty law, for 44 years, until 1866. Born in Sherborn,
Massachusetts and a graduate of Harvard College, Judge Ware practiced law
in Portland and was among the most active “Maine Separatists” during
the second decade of the 1800’s.
The fourth District Judge Edward Fox, a native of Portland,
served from 1866 until his death in 1881. He was a graduate of Harvard College
and Harvard Law School. A pre-eminent trial lawyer with an extensive practice,
Judge Fox had served as City Solicitor for Portland and a state legislator
prior to his appointment to the Court.
Nathan Webb, a lifelong resident of Portland, served in
the Maine State Legislature, as the Cumberland County Attorney, and as the
United States Attorney, prior his appointment in 1882 to the federal bench
by President Arthur. Judge Webb served for more than 20 years, resigning
in 1902. He was a member of the class of 1846 at Harvard College.
Clarence Hale, the
successor of Judge Webb, was born in Turner, educated at Bowdoin College,
and came to Portland in 1871 to begin his legal career. He served as the
City Solicitor for Portland for 3 years and in the Maine House of Representatives
prior to his appointment as District Judge by President Theodore Roosevelt
in 1902.
President Harding appointed John Andrew Peters, a lifelong
resident of Ellsworth,to the District Court in 1922. A graduate
of Bowdoin College, he studied law at the office of his cousin, Andrew Wiswell,
who would later become chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
A former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, Judge Peters served
5 terms in Congress prior to his appointment to the Court. He served on the
Court for 25 years.
John D. Clifford, Jr., who served as the United
States Attorney for the District of Maine from 1933 – 1947, was appointed
District Judge by President Truman in 1947 and held that office until his
death in 1956. Judge Clifford practiced law in Lewiston and had been active
in the Democratic Party prior to his federal appointments. He was a graduate
of Bowdoin College and the Georgetown Law School.
Edward T. Gignoux, was appointed in 1957 by
President Eisenhower as the ninth District Judge. Once seriously considered
for a nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, he presided over several cases
of national interest, including the contempt trial of the “ Chicago 7” and
the bribery trial of a federal judge, during his celebrated 30 year career.
Judge Gignoux graduated from Harvard College and from Harvard Law School.
Waterville native George J. Mitchell was the United States
Attorney when he was appointed to the Court by President Carter in 1979 when
a second judgeship was authorized for the District of Maine. He served only
6 months before resigning to accept appointment to the United States Senate
to fill the unexpired term of Senator Muskie, who had become Secretary of
State. Senator Mitchell is a graduate of Bowdoin College and Georgetown Law
School.
Conrad K. Cyr served with distinction as the United States
Bankruptcy Judge in Bangor for 20 years before being appointed by President
Reagan in 1981 to succeed Judge Mitchell. In 1989 Judge Cyr was appointed
to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Born in Limestone,
Judge Cyr is a graduate of Holy Cross College and Yale Law School.
President Reagan appointed Gene Carter as
the District of Maine’s twelfth judge in 1983 when Judge Gignoux assumed
senior status. Born in Milbridge, Judge Carter was educated at the University
of Maine and the New York University School of Law. Prior to his appointment,
Judge Carter had a successful law practice in Bangor and also served as an
Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Born in Canada, D. Brock Hornby is a graduate
of the University of Western Ontario and the Harvard Law School. A naturalized
American citizen, Judge Hornby was appointed District Judge by President
Bush in 1990. Prior to his appointment, he practiced law in Portland and
had served as the District of Maine’s first full-time United States
Magistrate and as an Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
When a third judgeship was authorized, Morton
A. Brody, who
like his two immediate predecessors had previously served
as an Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, was appointed
District Judge by President Bush in 1991. He also previously served as a
Justice on the Maine Superior Court. Born in Lewiston, Judge Brody was a
graduate of Bates College and the University of Chicago Law School. Judge
Brody died in 2000.
George Z. Singal was appointed by President Clinton in
2000 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Judge Brody. Born in an
Italian refugee camp in 1944, Judge Singal is a naturalized American citizen.
His family emigrated to Bangor in 1948, where he lived and practiced law
until his appointment to the Court. He is a graduate of the University of
Maine and the Harvard Law School.
Bangor native John A. Woodcock, a graduate of Bowdoin
College and the University of Maine School of Law,was appointed
District Judge by President George W. Bush in 2003 after Judge Carter assumed
senior status. A longtime civil litigator, Judge Woodcock practiced law in
Bangor prior to his appointment to the bench.
