Clarence Victor Opper (April 13, 1897 – June 19, 1964) was a judge of the

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a Federal judiciary of the United States, federal trial court court of record, of record established by US Congress, Congress under Article One of the United States Constitution, Article ...

from 1938 to 1964.

Early life, education, and military service

Born in

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 ...

to Victor M. and Alice G. Opper, he enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, 301st Field Signal Battery during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in May 1917. He served until February 1919, achieving the rank of second lieutenant, and during his service also received an A.B. from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1918. He received an

LL.B. 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

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1921, and was an editor of the ''

Columbia Law Review The ''Columbia Law Review'' is a law review edited and published by students at Columbia Law School. The journal publishes scholarly articles, essays, and student notes. It was established in 1901 by Joseph E. Corrigan and John M. Woolsey, who s ...

'' from 1920 to 1921.''Official Congressional Directory'' (1964), p. 663.

Legal career

Following his graduation, he was admitted to the New York State Bar. He entered the practice of law in New York City from 1921 to 1931, and was then counsel to the City Housing Corporation until 1933. He was than appointed assistant general counsel of the

Farm Credit Administration The Farm Credit Administration is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States. Its function is to regulate the financial institutions that provide credit to farmers. ...

until 1934, when he became assistant general counsel to the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

, supervising legal work concerned with fiscal, monetary banking, and foreign exchange questions. He conducted the Treasury Department's participation in gold and monetary litigation, specifically the

Gold Clause Cases The ''Gold Clause Cases'' were a series of actions brought before the Supreme Court of the United States, in which the court narrowly upheld the Roosevelt administration's adjustment of the gold standard in response to the Great Depression. Bac ...

decided by the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. In the period before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he helped craft the legal justification for the Roosevelt Administration's refusal to export

helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...

to Nazi Germany.

Judicial service

On February 28, 1938, 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 ...

appointed Opper to fill a seat on the

United States Board of Tax Appeals The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute ...

(now the United States Tax Court) vacated by the resignation of

Logan Morris Logan Meyer Morris (October 25, 1889 – October 20, 1977) was a judge of the United States Board of Tax Appeals (later the United States Tax Court) from 1925 to 1937. Born in Logan, Utah, Morris received a bachelor's degree from the University of ...

. This was one of several appointments which went against a previously observed Senate Resolution prohibiting the appointment to that body of persons recently employed by the Treasury Department.Harold Dubroff and Brant J. Hellwig, ''The United States Tax Court: An Historical Analysis'' (2014), p. 159. Opper was reappointed for a full term on June 2, 1938, and was reappointed by 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 June 2, 1950, and by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

on June 2, 1962.

Personal life

He married Lucy Berlin in 1931, with whom he had a daughter, Susanna. Two years into his last term on the Tax Court, Opper died at the

George Washington University Hospital The George Washington University Hospital (GWUH) is a short-stay hospital in Washington, D.C. affiliated with the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Since 2022, the hospital has been wholly owned and operated ...

, at the age of 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Opper, Clarence V. 1897 births 1964 deaths Dartmouth College alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Columbia Law School alumni Members of the United States Board of Tax Appeals Judges of the United States Tax Court United States Article I federal judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt United States Article I federal judges appointed by Harry S. Truman United States Article I federal judges appointed by John F. Kennedy Lawyers from New York City