Harold Lyman Ryan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Harold Lyman Ryan (June 17, 1923 – April 10, 1995) was an
attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gov ...
and
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 Idaho The United States District Court for the District of Idaho (in case citations, D. Idaho) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of Idaho (except for the part of the state within Yellowstone National Park, which is un ...
.


Education

Born and raised in
Weiser Weiser may refer to: Places * Weiser Airpark, a defunct aerodrome in Texas * Weiser, Idaho * Weiser State Forest * Weiser Township, North Dakota * Weiser River People * Conrad Weiser (1696–1760), German pioneer * Grethe Weiser (1903–1970), Ger ...
,
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
, Ryan graduated from Weiser High School in 1941, and attended the
University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...
in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
from 1941 to 1943, then enlisted in the He attended the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
under the
V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...
, completed midshipmen's school at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
in
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
, and graduated with a commission as an
ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...
Ryan served the remainder of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in the
Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
aboard the . Ryan returned to the University of Idaho in 1946, and entered its
College of Law A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...
, graduating in January 1950 with 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 ...
.


Early career

Ryan was admitted to the Idaho
State Bar A state bar association is a bar association that represents or seeks to represent the attorneys practicing law in a particular U.S. state. Their functions differ from state to state, but often include administration of the state bar examination fo ...
in 1950, and returned to Weiser to practice law with his father, He served as a deputy
prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
of Washington County from 1951 to 1952, and was elected to the
Idaho state senate The Idaho State Senate is the upper chamber of the Idaho Legislature. It consists of 35 senators elected to two-year terms, each representing a district of the state. The Senate meets at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho. Composition of th ...
in 1962 and served from 1963 to 1966. While in the state senate, Ryan took a particular interest in modernizing the Idaho judiciary and served as Chairman of the Joint Commission of the
Idaho Legislature The Idaho Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the 43rd State of Idaho and is bicameral, consisting of the upper chamber of the Idaho Senate and the lower chamber of the Idaho House of Representatives. The state of Idaho ...
which instituted sweeping reform by reorganizing and modernizing the state judicial system, creating a court administration, and forming the Idaho Judicial Council. He also served as president of the Idaho state bar from 1967 to 1969.


Federal judicial service

After serving as campaign director for
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Jim McClure in 1978, McClure recommended Ryan to
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
in July 1981 to fill a seat on the
U.S. District Court 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 ...
vacated by Judge Raymond McNichols. He was nominated by President Reagan on December 7, confirmed by the Senate on December 16, and received commission on December 17, 1981. Ryan served as Chief Judge from 1988 to 1992, then assumed senior status on December 30, 1992, and continued until his death from
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
on April 10, 1995. He is buried at Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise.


Notable cases

*In the spring of 1982, recaptured fugitive spy
Christopher Boyce Christopher John Boyce (born February 16, 1953) is a former American defense industry Employment, employee who alleged CIA involvement in the Whitlam dismissal in Australia. After this, he attempted to sell United States spy satellite secrets to ...
was sentenced by Ryan to three years for his escape and to 25 years for bank robbery, conspiracy, and breaking federal gun laws. *In the mid-1980s, Ryan ruled in favor of inmate Walter "Bud" Balla and others that conditions in the state prison violated their constitutional rights. He imposed a cap on inmate population which necessitated the construction of a new maximum security facility. *In early 1991, Ryan issued the
bench warrant An arrest warrant is a Warrant (law), warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and Detention (Imprisonment), detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Cana ...
for
Randy Weaver Randall Claude Weaver (January 3, 1948 – May 11, 2022) was an American survivalist. He was a central figure in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff with federal law enforcement at his cabin near Naples, Idaho, during which his wife, son and family ...
, which led to the
Ruby Ridge The Ruby Ridge standoff was the siege of a cabin occupied by the Weaver family in Boundary County, Idaho, in August 1992. On August 21, deputies of the United States Marshals Service (USMS) came to arrest Randy Weaver under a bench warrant fo ...
standoff in August 1992.''US DOJ OPR Ruby Ridge Task Force Report, June 10, 1994'', IV. Specific Issues Investigated, B. The Failure of Weaver to Appear for TriaL, 2. Statement of Facts, c. February 20, 1991 - The Rescheduled Trial Date. "On February 20, Howen and defense counsel Hofmeister appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Harold L. Ryan. At that time, Hofmeister told the court that he had been unable to contact Weaver."


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Harold Lyman Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Idaho United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States Navy personnel of World War II University of Idaho alumni People from Weiser, Idaho Military personnel from Idaho Republican Party Idaho state senators Idaho lawyers American prosecutors 1923 births 1995 deaths University of Idaho College of Law alumni 20th-century members of the Idaho Legislature