Charles Almon Dewey (September 11, 1877 – March 2, 1958) 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 Southern District of Iowa The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa (in case citations, S.D. Iowa) has jurisdiction over forty-seven of Iowa's ninety-nine counties. It is subject to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (except for patent claims an ...

Education and career

Born in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

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 ...

, Dewey attended

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in Ohio."Ex-Federal Judge Charles A. Dewey Dead at Age 80," ''Cedar Rapids Gazette'', 1958-03-03, at p. 4. He was a Corporal in the United States Volunteers during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. In 1901, 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 the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. History The law school was founded in 1865 by George Grover Wright and Chester C. Cole as an independent la ...

, and entered private practice in Washington, Iowa. He was city attorney of Washington from 1905 to 1909, and county attorney for Washington County, Iowa from 1909 to 1915. From 1918 to 1928, he served as a state district court judge in Iowa's sixth judicial district.

Federal judicial service

In 1927, a backlog of unresolved cases had developed in the

."Judge Wade Hits Delayed Legal Cases," ''Sioux City Journal'', 1927-10-06, p. 1. On January 19, 1928, President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

signed into law a bill that authorized the appointment of a second judge to the Southern District of Iowa, with the proviso that when the existing judgeship becomes vacant, it shall not be filled unless authorized by Congress.Pub. L. No. 6, ch. 10, 70th Cong., 1st Sess, 45 Stat. 52. Dewey was nominated by President

on January 23, 1928, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 45 Stat. 52. 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 January 31, 1928, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on March 1, 1949. As a senior judge, he was given temporary assignments three times, sitting

by designation A visiting judge is a judge appointed to hear a case as a member of a court to which he or she does not ordinarily belong. In United States federal courts, this is referred to as an assignment "by designation" of the Chief Justice of the United ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

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. His service terminated on March 2, 1958, due to his death in

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, Iowa.

References

External links

Charles Almon Dewey Papers
are housed at the University of Iowa Special Collections & University Archives. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dewey, Charles Almon 1877 births 1958 deaths Iowa state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa United States district court judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge United States Army soldiers People from Washington, Iowa