Seth Shepard (April 23, 1847 – December 3, 1917) was an

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

and Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.

Education and career

Born in

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas, United States, and the county seat of Washington County, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. Brenham is also known for its annual German heritage festival that takes pl ...

, Shepard was a private in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

from 1864 to 1865. He received 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 ...

from Washington College (now

Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the law school of Washington and Lee University, a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia. It is accredited by the American Bar Association. Facilities are on the histo ...

) in 1868 and entered private practice in Brenham. He was a member of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

from 1874 to 1875, thereafter returning to private practice in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, Texas until 1886, and then in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas from 1886 to 1893.

Federal judicial service

Shepard was nominated by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

on April 14, 1893, to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia (now the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...

), to a new Associate Justice seat authorized by 27 Stat. 434. 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 15, 1893, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on January 19, 1905, due to his elevation to be Chief Justice of the same court. Shepard was nominated by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

on December 16, 1904, to the Chief Justice seat on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (now the

) vacated by Chief Justice Richard H. Alvey. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 5, 1905, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on September 30, 1917, due to his retirement.

Other service

Concurrent with his federal judicial service, Shepard was a lecturer in law at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

from 1895 to 1910.

Death

Shepard died on December 3, 1917, aged 70, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

References

Sources

* \ {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Seth 1847 births 1917 deaths Texas state senators Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit United States federal judges appointed by Grover Cleveland United States court of appeals judges appointed by Theodore Roosevelt Confederate States Army soldiers Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni Texas lawyers Lawyers from Galveston, Texas Lawyers from Dallas 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature