John David Kelly
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John David Kelly (October 9, 1934 – October 21, 1998) 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 Eighth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western ...
.


Early life and education

Born in
Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...
, Kelly earned an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1956 from Saint John's University in
Collegeville, Minnesota Collegeville is an unincorporated community in St. Wendel Township, Stearns County, 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 Manitob ...
, and a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
in 1959 from the
University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...
. In 1961, Kelly married Patricia "Tish" Greeley, who later would serve as the Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives.


Professional career

A lieutenant in the
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 ...
, Kelly worked as an attorney in the Office of General Counsel at
The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
from 1959 until 1962. Kelly returned to North Dakota in 1962. From 1962 until joining the federal bench in 1998, Kelly worked in private legal practice in Fargo, North Dakota, at the Vogel Law Firm. He served as president of the firm for his final 20 years with the firm. In 1974, Kelly argued before the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
in the case of ''Chapman v. Meier''. The Court unanimously found in favor of his client.


Federal judicial service

On January 27, 1998, President
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, ...
nominated Kelly to a seat on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts: * Eastern District of Arkansas * Western ...
to replace Judge Frank J. Magill, who had taken senior status in April 1997. 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 Kelly in a voice vote on July 31, 1998, received his commission on August 3, 1998 and commenced service on August 26, 1998. Shortly after being sworn in, Kelly fell ill with an infection in mid-October 1998 and was taken to the
Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...
. On October 21, 1998, Kelly died in Rochester, Minnesota, before his investiture had taken place. Given his short tenure on the Court, Kelly participated in only a small number of cases. He provided a crucial vote that affirmed the district court by an evenly divided vote of the Court
en banc In law, an ''en banc'' (; alternatively ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank''; ) session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges. For courts like the United States Courts of Appeal ...
. He authored only a few opinions, including one that the Court of Appeals posthumously released.''Nesser v. Trans World Airlines, Inc.'', 160 F.3d 442 (8th Cir. 1998).


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, John David 1934 births 1998 deaths Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Bill Clinton University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Grand Forks, North Dakota Military personnel from North Dakota North Dakota lawyers 20th-century American judges