Edward Allen Tamm (typically "E.A. Tamm" in FBI files, sometimes "Edward Tamm") (April 21, 1906 – September 22, 1985) worked for the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI), reaching the third-highest position as Assistant to the Director (

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...

) before accepting an appointment as a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a United States district court, federal district court in Washington, D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and ...

and then

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 District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...

Background

Edward Allen Tamm was born on April 21, 1906, in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. His parents were Edward Allen Tamm and Lucille Catherine Buckley. In 1925, Tamm studied at St. Charles College of

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat, seat of Lewis and Clark County, Montana, Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold ...

. In 1930, he received an

LLB 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

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

Career

In 1928, Tamm arrived in Washington, where he Georgetown University Law School and graduated in 1930.

FBI

In 1930, Tamm joined what was then the Bureau of Information (and in 1935 became the FBI) as a special agent. In 1934, he became a special assistant to the FBI Director. In 1940, he became the Assistant to the Director, second only to

Clyde Tolson Clyde Anderson Tolson (May 22, 1900 – April 14, 1975) was an American law enforcement officer who was the second-ranking official of the FBI from 1930 until 1972, from 1947 titled Associate Director, primarily responsible for personnel and dis ...

. In 1945, Tamm served as FBI "special adviser" in the US delegation to the

United Nations Conference on International Organization The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, was a convention of delegates from 50 Allies of World War II, Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 194 ...

. In his 2009 book ''The FBI and the Catholic Church, 1935-1962'', author Steve Rosswurm devoted a chapter to Tamm. Rosswurm credits Tamm, "the FBI's highest-ranking Catholic, in forging the alliance" between the FBI and the Catholic Church during the 1930s and 1940s. (On May 5, 1949, Hoover appointed

D.M. Ladd D.M. Ladd, also known as D. Milton Ladd and "Mickey" Ladd (1903–1960), was a special agent and assistant (number 3 position) at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to its director J. Edgar Hoover, who was "one of the earliest member ...

to Tamm's Number 3 position of Assistant to the Director. Ladd took over "supervision of all the FBI's investigative activities in both criminal and subversive fields." )

Federal judicial service

On June 22, 1948, Tamm received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

from US 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 ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

James McPherson Proctor James McPherson Proctor (September 4, 1882 – September 17, 1953) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and previously was an associate justice of the District Court of the ...

. On January 13, 1949, Truman nominated him to the same position; on March 29, 1949, 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 ...

confirmed him; and on April 1, 1949, he received his commission. (Congress subsequently reorganized the court. His service terminated on March 16, 1965, due to elevation to the D.C. Circuit.) That court dealt also heard cases for the District of Columbia "normally... tried before state courts" and appointed the DC school board. On March 1, 1965, US President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

appointed Tamm as an associate justice of the federal District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia, a seat vacated by Walter M. Bastian. On March 11, 1965, the Senate confirmed him, and on March 11, 1965, he received his commission. He served until his death in 1985. At the time of his elevation, the ''Washington Post'' retracted concern from 1949 as to whether a high-level FBI official would serve well as a judge:

ammhas won general recognition as a trial judge of great fairness and firmness. His devotion to the law and his understanding of it have been enriched by his experience on the bench. He has thoroughly earned elevation, and there is every reason to expect that he will be a discerning and dedicated appellate judge.

In 1977, as the ''Washington Post'' noted, Tamm:

set aside an FCC ruling that seven words (referring to such things as various sexual activities and portions of the female anatomy) could not by aired by radio. He wrote that the FCC order carried the agency into the 'forbidden realm of censorship." He also pointed out that the broadcasting ban would prohibit the airing, not only of the
George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercultur ...
record in question, but certain of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's plays, portions of the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
, works of a long list of prominent authors, "and the
Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...
tapes".

In 1981, Tamm "made headlines... when he took his own profession to task" for a growing backlog of judicial work building up, with "his own court the biggest federal offender" and recommended a statute to deny salary to federal judges failing to dispose of cases "within 60 days after the date of the hearing." Tamm also served as Chief Judge of the

Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals The Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals was established by the United States Congress in December 1971 with exclusive jurisdiction to hear appeals from the decisions of the U.S. district courts in cases arising under the wage and price control pr ...

from 1972 to 1981.

Personal life and death

On January 30, 1934, Tamm married Grace Monica Sullivan; they had two surviving children. Tamm's younger brother

Quinn Tamm Quinn Tamm (August 10, 1910 – January 23, 1986) was an assistant director for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and then later an influential executive director of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Tamm's older bro ...

also served as an FBI officer. Tamm served as a trustee of Saint Joseph College, board member of the Police Boys Club of Washington, D.C., and lieutenant commander in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

. Other associations included:

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

(member advisory committee on judges function 1969-1985, special committee on prevention and control crime 1969-1985),

Federal Bar Association The Federal Bar Association (FBA) is the primary voluntary professional organization for private and government lawyers and judges practicing and sitting in federal courts in the United States. Six times a year, the FBA prints ''The Federal Lawye ...

, District of Columbia Bar Association (honorary), American Law Institute, American Judicature Society, Metropolitan Board Trade, United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, United States Power Squadron, Sons Union Vets,

John Carroll Society The John Carroll Society was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1951 as a spiritual and beneficent organization for Catholic professional laypersons in the service of the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington. The founders of the society were S ...

, President's Cup Regatta Association, Columbia Country Club, Gourmet Society, ''La Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tasterin'', ''Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs''. Edward Allen Tamm died age 79 on September 22, 1985, of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

at his home in Washington, D.C.

Awards and recognition

* 1980: Honorary Doctor of Laws, New York Law School In its obituary, the ''Washington Post'' noted:

During his years on the appeals bench, the U.S. Circuit Court here became a leading force in the protection of defendants' rights. And if the former FBI agent did not always concur with the court's liberal wing, he often was seemingly guided by a common-sense approach to the case at hand.

Legacy

In 1995, Georgetown University created an annual "Tamm Memorial Award" of $300 with plaque for best student writing on the ''Georgetown Law Journal'', created Supreme Court Chief Justice and Mrs.

Warren Burger Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul College of Law i ...

References

External sources

*
Historical Society of the D.C. Circuit: Edward Allen Tamm

Historical Society of the D.C. Circuit: Portrait of Edward Allen Tamm

Open Jurist: Edward Allen Tamm
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamm, Edward Allen 1906 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Georgetown University Law Center alumni People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Suffolk University Law School alumni United States court of appeals judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson United States district court judges appointed by Harry S. Truman