Edwin Stark Thomas (November 11, 1872 – January 21, 1952) 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 District of Connecticut The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeal ...

Education and career

Born on November 11, 1872, in

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, Thomas 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 ...

in 1895 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 ...

. He entered private practice in

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

from 1895 to 1912. He was a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each ...

in 1899. He was Executive Secretary to

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

Simeon E. Baldwin from 1911 to 1913.

Federal judicial service

Thomas was nominated by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

on October 16, 1913, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

James Perry Platt James Perry Platt (March 31, 1851 – January 26, 1913) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Education and career Born in Towanda, Pennsylvania, to Senator Orville H. Platt, he ...

. 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 November 17, 1913, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on April 12, 1939, due to his resignation.

Circumstances of his resignation

Thomas resigned during an investigation of his financial affairs by a federal grand jury, prompted by his connections to the bribery case of another federal judge,

Martin Thomas Manton Martin Thomas Manton (August 2, 1880 – November 17, 1946) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for ...

. It seemed likely that Thomas may have been offered a $10,000 bribe for a favorable ruling. He claimed to be suffering from nervous disorders which friends attributed to the circumstances under which he had been questioned by a federal grand jury. He resigned from the hospital.

Death

Thomas died on January 21, 1952, in Columbia, Connecticut.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Edwin Stark 1872 births 1952 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut United States district court judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson People from Woodstock, Illinois