Ewing Thomas Kerr
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
In office
September 26, 1975 – July 1, 1992
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
In office
October 22, 1955 – September 26, 1975
Appointed byDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byThomas Blake Kennedy
Succeeded byClarence Addison Brimmer Jr.
Attorney General of Wyoming
In office
1939–1943
GovernorNels H. Smith
Preceded byRay E. Lee
Succeeded byLouis O'Marr
Personal details
Born
Ewing Thomas Kerr

(1900-01-21)January 21, 1900
Bowie, Texas
DiedJuly 1, 1992(1992-07-01) (aged 92)
EducationUniversity of Colorado Boulder
University of Oklahoma (B.A.)
University of Central Oklahoma (B.S.)
read law
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1943-1946

Ewing Thomas Kerr (January 21, 1900 – July 1, 1992) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming.

Education and career

Born in Bowie, Texas, Kerr attended the University of Colorado Boulder and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1923 and a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Central Oklahoma in 1923. He read law to enter the bar in 1927. He was in private practice in Cheyenne, Wyoming from 1927 to 1929. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming from 1930 to 1933. He was the Attorney General of Wyoming from 1939 to 1943, and an attorney for the Wyoming Senate in 1943. He was in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946 and became a major.[1][2] During World War II, he served in the Allied Command in Italy and became head of the legal division in that region.[2] In 1945, he reorganized the civilian courts in Austria.[2]

Federal judicial service

On October 22, 1955, Kerr received a recess appointment from President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming vacated by Judge Thomas Blake Kennedy. Formally nominated to the same seat by President Eisenhower on January 12, 1956, he was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 1, 1956, and received his commission the following day. He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1962 to 1964. He assumed senior status on September 26, 1975. Kerr served until his death on July 1, 1992.[1]

Honor

The Ewing T. Kerr Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Casper, Wyoming, was named in Kerr's honor.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Ewing Thomas Kerr at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  2. ^ a b c The Historical Encyclopedia of Wyoming, Volume 1, Wyoming Historical Institute, Wyoming, 1970, page 262.
  3. ^ "Preservation: Ewing T. Kerr Federal Building and Courthouse", General Services Administration website, updated May 20, 2021.

Sources

Legal offices Preceded byRay E. Lee Attorney General of Wyoming 1939–1943 Succeeded byLouis O'Marr Preceded byThomas Blake Kennedy Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming 1955–1975 Succeeded byClarence Addison Brimmer Jr.
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