Steven James McAuliffe
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire
Assumed office
April 1, 2013
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire
In office
2004–2011
Preceded byPaul Barbadoro
Succeeded byJoseph Normand Laplante
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire
In office
October 10, 1992 – April 1, 2013
Appointed byGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byNorman H. Stahl
Succeeded byLandya B. McCafferty
Personal details
Born
Steven James McAuliffe

(1948-03-03) March 3, 1948 (age 75)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1970; died 1986)​
Kathleen E. Thomas
​
(m. 1992)​
Children4
EducationVirginia Military Institute (BA)
Georgetown University Law Center (JD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1973–1977 (active)
1978–1979 (reserve)
Rank Captain
UnitJAG Corps

Steven James McAuliffe (born March 3, 1948) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. He is the widower of Christa McAuliffe, one of the victims of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

Education and career

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he attended Marian High School in Framingham, where he met his future wife Christa Corrigan. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970. His wife had his VMI ring with her on the shuttle; his classmates replaced the ring after her death.[1] McAuliffe studied law at Georgetown University Law Center from 1970 to 1973, receiving a Juris Doctor. McAuliffe attended The JAG School at the University of Virginia and entered U.S. Army JAG Corps. He was a captain in the JAG Corps from 1973 to 1977. From 1977 to 1980, he was an assistant attorney general in New Hampshire. He was in private practice in Concord, New Hampshire, from 1980 until his appointment to the federal bench in 1992.[2]

Federal judicial service

McAuliffe was nominated by President George H. W. Bush on September 9, 1992, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire vacated by Norman H. Stahl. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 8, 1992, and received his commission on October 10, 1992. He served as Chief Judge from 2004 to 2011. He assumed senior status on April 1, 2013.[2]

Personal life

McAuliffe continues to serve as a founding director for the Challenger Center for Space Science Education. He has two children, Scott and Caroline, with his first wife, Christa; they were nine and six, respectively, when she died, as a result of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. In early 1992, he married Kathleen E. Thomas, a reading teacher for the Concord School District, and mother of two children.[3]

References

  1. ^ McAuliffe, SJ. Speech at the VMI class of 1994 ring ceremony
  2. ^ a b "McAuliffe, Steven J. – Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  3. ^ "Teacher-In-Space Widower Weds". Associated Press. March 5, 1992. Retrieved January 7, 2019.

Sources

Legal offices Preceded byNorman H. Stahl Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire 1992–2013 Succeeded byLandya B. McCafferty Preceded byPaul Barbadoro Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire 2004–2011 Succeeded byJoseph Normand Laplante
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