Conrad Keefe Cyr (December 9, 1931 – July 28, 2016) was an American jurist who served as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts ...

from 1989 until his death. He was previously a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Maine The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine (in case citations, D. Me.) is the U.S. district court for the state of Maine. The District of Maine was one of the original thirteen district courts established by the Judiciary Act of ...

Early life and education

Cyr was born in

Limestone, Maine Limestone is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,526 at the 2020 census. The town is best known for being the home of the Loring Commerce Centre (formerly Loring Air Force Base; also lying on its former te ...

. He attended

Limestone High School Limestone High School is a former high school in the town of Limestone, Maine. It changed to Limestone Community School and incorporated grades K-12 when nearby Loring Air Force Base closed and is now also home to the Maine School of Science and Ma ...

, graduating in 1949, then matriculated at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from Holy Cross in 1953 and 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

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1956. Cyr was in private practice of law in Limestone from 1956 to 1959, and in Bangor, Maine, from 1961 to 1962, serving in the interim as an

assistant United States attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

in Bangor. He was a

referee in bankruptcy A Referee in Bankruptcy or Bankruptcy Referee was a federal official with quasi-judicial powers, appointed by a United States district court to administer bankruptcy proceedings, prior to 1979. The office was first created by the Bankruptcy Act of ...

for the District of Maine from 1961 to 1973.

Federal judicial service

District court service

Cyr served as a federal bankruptcy judge from 1973 to 1981, and was chief judge of the

Bankruptcy Appellate Panel A Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (abbreviated BAP) is authorized b28 U.S.C. § 158(b)to hear, with the consent of all parties, appeals from the decisions of the United States bankruptcy courts in their district that otherwise would be heard by distric ...

for the First Circuit from 1980 to 1981. On August 11, 1981, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

nominated Cyr to the

vacated by

George J. Mitchell George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 19 ...

, who had resigned following his appointment as a United States Senator. Cyr was unanimously 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 September 25, 1981. He received his commission on September 28, 1981. Cyr served as chief judge of that District from 1983 to 1989. His service was terminated on November 20, 1989, due to his elevation to the court of appeals.

Appeals court service

On August 4, 1989, President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

nominated Cyr to serve on the First Circuit, in the seat vacated when Frank M. Coffin assumed senior status. Cyr was confirmed by the Senate on October 24, 1989 and received his commission on November 20, 1989. Cyr assumed senior status on January 31, 1997 and continued to hear cases for several years afterwards. He was succeeded by fellow Maine resident

Kermit Lipez Kermit Victor Lipez (born August 18, 1941) is an American lawyer who serves as a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Education and early career Lipez received a Bachelor of Arts degree f ...

Death

Cyr died on July 28, 2016, at the age of 84. He was remembered by Chief Judge Jeffrey R. Howard as "a wonderful friend. His dedication to justice and to his country has left an indelible mark on the legal system and on this nation". He is interred in Saint Louis Cemetery in his hometown of Limestone, Maine, alongside his parents, Louis and Kathleen, and sister, Marilyn, who preceded him in death by ten months.Marilyn A. Cyr
- ''

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig an ...

'', May 10, 2015"Conrad K. Cyr, former federal judge in Maine, dies at 84"
- ''

Portland Press Herald The ''Portland Press Herald'' (abbreviated as ''PPH''; Sunday edition ''Maine Sunday Telegram'') is a daily newspaper based in South Portland, Maine, with a statewide readership. The ''Press Herald'' mainly serves southern Maine and is focused ...

'', July 31, 2016

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cyr, Conrad Keefe 1931 births 2016 deaths Assistant United States attorneys College of the Holy Cross alumni Judges of the United States bankruptcy courts Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Maine Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Lawyers from Bangor, Maine People from Limestone, Maine United States court of appeals judges appointed by George H. W. Bush United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan Yale Law School alumni