John Decker Butzner Jr. (October 2, 1917 – January 20, 2006) was 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 Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district cou ...

and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roa ...

Education and career

Born on October 2, 1917, in

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, Butzner began to become interested in the law when, as a child, he visited his uncle Billy Butzner, an attorney. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree, magna cum laude, in 1938 from the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took ...

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 ...

in 1941 from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

, where he served on the board of editors of the ''Virginia Law Review''. He entered private practice in Fredericksburg,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

from 1941 to 1942, with his uncle's firm of Butzner & Hicks. He was a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

staff sergeant in the Weather Service from 1942 to 1945, serving in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, returning to private practice in Fredericksburg from 1946 to 1958. He served as an Associate Judge of the

Virginia Circuit Court The Virginia Circuit Courts are the state trial courts of general jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Circuit Courts have jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases. For civil cases, the courts have authority to try cases with an ...

for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit from 1958 to 1960. He served as a Judge of the Virginia Circuit Court for the Thirty-Ninth Judicial Circuit from 1960 to 1962.

Personal

Butzner's sister,

Jane Jacobs Jane Isabel Jacobs (''née'' Butzner; 4 May 1916 – 25 April 2006) was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book ''The Death and Life of Great American Ci ...

, was a leading twentieth century urbanist and reformer. Butzner married Viola Peterson within two years of the end of his military service.

Federal judicial service

Butzner was nominated 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 May 15, 1962, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Albert Vickers Bryan. 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 June 15, 1962, and received his commission on June 20, 1962. His service terminated on August 1, 1967, due to elevation to the Fourth Circuit. Butzner 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 ...

on June 27, 1967, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge J. Spencer Bell. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 31, 1967, and received his commission on July 31, 1967. He assumed senior status on November 1, 1982. He took inactive senior status in 2000. His service terminated on January 20, 2006, due to his death in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, after a lengthy illness.

Kenneth Starr

Butzner served on the three-judge panel that appointed Kenneth W. Starr as independent counsel investigating

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. He was interviewed by Ken Gormley for his 2010 book on the Clinton scandals.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', in her review of the book, says "Breathing with the help of an oxygen tube and with his speech severely impaired, Judge Butzner is able to utter only one complete sentence: 'I was against Starr, from start to finish.'"

Honor

In 1976, Butzner received the Distinguished Service Award from the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butzner, John Decker Jr. 1917 births 2006 deaths Politicians from Fredericksburg, Virginia University of Scranton alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia United States district court judges appointed by John F. Kennedy Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson Politicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II Virginia circuit court judges