Cameron McVicar Batjer (August 24, 1919June 1, 2011) was an American lawyer and Justice on the

Supreme Court of Nevada The Supreme Court of Nevada is the highest state court of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the head of the Nevada Judiciary. The main constitutional function of the Supreme Court is to review appeals made directly from the decisions of the distr ...

from 1967 to 1981.

Early life and education

Batjer was born on his maternal grandparents' ranch in

Smith Valley, Nevada Smith Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The population was 1,603 at the 2010 census. Geography Smith Valley is located in southwestern Lyon County at (38.819204, -119.355912), occupying the valle ...

to Robert Wilhelm Batjer and Mary Belle McVicar. His father, a native of Oldenburg,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, was a cattle rancher and teamster, and his mother was a schoolteacher. He attended Fernley School and graduated from the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

in 1941, majoring in economics and history and was a member of

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

fraternity. He taught school in

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

where he met and married fellow teacher Lura Gamble, a native of Hazen. After the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawa ...

, Batjer enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, serving in the

Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

s with the

3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together wit ...

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 definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. While at

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the se ...

, he received a

commission Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anothe ...

and was assigned to General Douglas MacArthur's staff in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia. Upon returning home, he resumed his teaching career, first in McGill, and then as football and basketball coach at

Fernley High School Fernley High School (also known as FHS or Fernley School) is a coeducational, secondary school located in Fernley, Nevada, United States, eastside of the Reno metropolitan area. It is the largest school in the Lyon County School District. The sc ...

Career

Batjer graduated from

University of Utah College of Law The S.J. Quinney College of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Utah. Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, the school was established in 1913. It is a member of the Association of American Law Schools and is accredited ...

in 1950 and was admitted to the Utah bar. He was chief counsel of the

Utah State Senate The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members representing an equal number of senate districts. Each senate district is ...

and, in 1951, was hired as chief counsel to the staff of

U.S. Senator 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 powe ...

George W. Malone in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Returning to Nevada, he taught school and practiced law in

Carson City Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on t ...

before becoming District Attorney of

Ormsby County Ormsby County was a county in Nevada Territory from 1861 to 1864 and in the State of Nevada from 1864 until 1969. It contained Carson City, the county seat, and later, the state capital, founded two years earlier. Name It was named after Maj ...

, succeeding

Paul Laxalt Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

, in 1954. He served as chairman of the Ormsby County Republican Party and twice ran for

Nevada Attorney General The Nevada Attorney General is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Nevada. The functions of the office are set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 228. The Attorney General represents the people of Nevada in civil and criminal ma ...

, albeit unsuccessfully. When the

was expanded from three to five members in 1967,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

appointed Batjer to fill one of the two new seats and was subsequently elected three times in statewide elections. He resigned from the court in 1981 to accept an appointment as chairman of the

United States Parole Commission The United States Parole Commission is the parole board responsible for granting or denying parole to, and supervising the parole releases of, incarcerated individuals who fall under its jurisdiction. It is part of the United States Department of Ju ...

from President Ronald Reagan, a position he would serve in until his retirement in 1990. During his life, he received numerous awards including the University of Nevada Alumni Association Alumnus of the Year Award, United States Parole Commission Ben Baer Award for Outstanding Leadership, University of Utah Law School

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap ...

, Phil Harris Award for Outstanding Service,

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

, and Washoe County Bar Association Lifetime Achievement Award. He died on June 1, 2011, in Carson City.

References

External links

Online Nevada Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batjer, Cameron 1919 births 2011 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II American people of German descent District attorneys in Nevada Military personnel from Nevada Nevada Republicans Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court People from Carson City, Nevada People from Lyon County, Nevada S.J. Quinney College of Law alumni Seabees United States Navy officers University of Nevada, Reno alumni 20th-century American judges