James Fleming Gordon (May 18, 1918 – February 9, 1990) 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 Western District of Kentucky The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky (in case citations, W.D. Ky.) is the United States district court, federal district court for the western part of the state of Kentucky. Appeals from the Western District of K ...

Education and career

Born in Madisonville,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, Gordon 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 Kentucky College of Law The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, also known as UK Rosenberg College of Law, is the law school of the University of Kentucky located in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded initially from a law program at Transylvania Univers ...

in 1941. He was in private practice in Madisonville from 1941 to 1942, serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, 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 th ...

during

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 ...

, from 1942 to 1945. He returned to private practice from 1945 to 1965, also serving as a campaign chairman for Kentucky Democratic Party in 1955, and as chairman of the

Kentucky Public Service Commission The Kentucky Public Service Commission is the public utilities commission for the State of Kentucky. The commission is a quasi-judicial regulatory tribunal. It regulates the intrastate rates and services of investor-owned electric, natural gas, ...

from 1956 to 1960. He was a special counsel to the

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; sinc ...

in 1965, and speakers chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party in 1966.

Federal judicial service

On June 24, 1965, Gordon was nominated by 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 ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Roy Mahlon Shelbourne Roy Mahlon Shelbourne (November 12, 1890 – December 29, 1974) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Education and career Born in Bardwell, Ken ...

. Gordon 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 July 22, 1965, and received his commission on July 23, 1965. He served as Chief Judge from 1969 to 1976, assuming senior status due to a certified disability on January 1, 1976, and serving in that capacity until his death on February 9, 1990.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, James Fleming 1918 births 1990 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson People from Madisonville, Kentucky University of Kentucky alumni United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American lawyers University of Kentucky College of Law alumni