Roger Thomas Foley (May 25, 1886 – October 9, 1974) was a

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 Nevada The United States District Court for the District of Nevada (in case citations, D. Nev.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Nevada. The court has locations in Las Vegas and Reno. Cases from the District of Nevada ...

Education and career

Born in

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, Foley graduated from the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...

in 1910 and was in private practice in Goldfield,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

from 1911 to 1925, and in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

from 1925 to 1928. He was a district attorney for Goldfield from 1916 to 1924. He was a justice of the peace and municipal judge in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

from 1929 to 1931. He was a deputy district attorney of Las Vegas from 1932 to 1934, then district attorney of Las Vegas from 1935 to 1938. He was a Nevada district judge for

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

and Lincoln County from 1939 to 1941, returning to private practice in Las Vegas from 1941 to 1945.

Federal judicial service

Foley was nominated by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

on March 30, 1945, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Frank Herbert Norcross. 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 April 10, 1945, and received his commission from 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 May 2, 1945. He served as Chief Judge from 1954 to 1957. He assumed senior status on April 1, 1957. His service terminated on October 9, 1974, due to his death.

Family and honor

Foley's son, Roger D. Foley, also served as a federal judge on the same court.Gloria J. Sturman
The Foley Family: Four Generationsof Service
The Nevada Bar (January 1, 2003). The Foley Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Las Vegas is named for the family, as a whole.

References

Sources

* 1886 births 1974 deaths American justices of the peace District attorneys in Nevada Nevada state court judges Municipal judges in the United States Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada United States district court judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt People from Sioux City, Iowa University of Chicago Law School alumni 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from Las Vegas Nevada lawyers Lawyers from Los Angeles {{Nevada-state-judge-stub