Jeffrey Robert Howard (born November 4, 1955) is an American lawyer who serves as a Senior

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Biography

Howard graduated from Plymouth State College (now Plymouth State University) in 1978 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree and he received a Juris Doctor from the

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

in 1981. After law school, Howard was an attorney in the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, rising to become Deputy Attorney General.

Political career

In 1989, he was appointed by Republican President George H. W. Bush to become

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of New Hampshire. In 1993, he left that position to become the

New Hampshire Attorney General The Attorney General of New Hampshire is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of New Hampshire who serves as head of the New Hampshire Department of Justice. , the state's attorney general is John Formella. Qualifications and appointment Un ...

, nominated by Republican

New Hampshire Governor The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

Steve Merrill Stephen Everett Merrill (June 21, 1946 – September 5, 2020) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from Manchester, New Hampshire. He served as the 77th governor of New Hampshire from 1993 to 1997. Early life Merrill was born in No ...

. He served as Attorney General until 1997, when he stepped down, allowing Democratic Governor

Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen ( ; née Bowers, born January 28, 1947) is an American retired educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Hampshire since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Shaheen served as the 78 ...

to nominate Philip McLaughlin. After serving as attorney general, Howard went back to private practice.

Federal judicial service

In September 2001, Howard was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. He was confirmed 99-0 by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on April 23, 2002. He received his commission on May 3, 2002. He served as chief judge from 2015 to 2022. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on March 31, 2022.

References

External links

*
Department of Justice Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Jeffrey R. 1955 births Living people 21st-century American judges Georgetown University Law Center alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit New Hampshire Attorneys General People from Claremont, New Hampshire Plymouth State University alumni United States Attorneys for the District of New Hampshire United States court of appeals judges appointed by George W. Bush