John Helm Pratt (November 17, 1910 – August 11, 1995) was an American lawyer and judge. Born in New Hampshire, Pratt spent most of his life in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

area, where he practiced law for 34 years before being appointed as 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 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 ...

in 1968 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 ...

. As a federal judge, Pratt presided over a number of significant cases, including the

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

trial of

G. Gordon Liddy George Gordon Battle Liddy (November 30, 1930 – March 30, 2021) was an American lawyer and FBI agent who was convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping for his role in the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration. Work ...

and civil rights cases involving

school desegregation In the United States, school integration (also known as desegregation) is the process of ending race-based segregation within American public, and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and ...

and discrimination based on

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

Early life and education

Pratt was born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, on November 17, 1910, to Harold B. and Marguerite R. Pratt.The Honorable John H. Pratt: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
, Oral History Project, The Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit (1992–1993). At age nine, he and his family moved to the

area,Louie Estrada
John H. Pratt Dies at 84
''Washington Post'' (August 12, 1995). after his father, a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

officer, was stationed in the area. Pratt and his family briefly moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

(where Pratt studied at the

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

) but later returned to Washington, where Pratt graduated from

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the ...

and served as a

United States Senate page A United States Senate page (Senate page or simply page) is a high-school age teen serving the United States Senate in Washington, D.C. Pages are nominated by senators, usually from their home state, and perform a variety of tasks, such as deliv ...

. Pratt studied at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

for two years before transferring to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he received an Artium Baccalaureus degree ''cum laude'' in 1930 at the age of 19. Pratt then attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, receiving 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 1934.Pratt, John Helm
''

Biographical Directory of Federal Judges The ''Biographical Directory of Federal Judges'' is a publication of the Federal Judicial Center providing basic biographical information on all past and present United States federal court Article III judges (those federal judges with life te ...

'',

Federal Judicial Center The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States. According to , the main areas of re ...

Military service and legal career

Pratt served in the

from 1942 and was discharged with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1946. 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 ...

, he served in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, where he earned a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

.Pam Belluck
John H. Pratt, 84, Federal Judge Who Helped Define Civil Rights
''New York Times'' (August 14, 1994). He lost a left arm,John Garret Penn
John Helm Pratt
64 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 822 (1995–1996). in December 1944, in

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He convalesced at

Biak Biak is the main island of Biak Archipelago located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The largest popula ...

Dutch New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea (, ) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1949 to 1962. It contained ...

, and then at naval hospitals in the United States, including

Bethesda Naval Hospital Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC; formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med) is a United States military medical center located in B ...

. Prior to taking the federal bench, Pratt was in the private practice of law in Washington, D.C. for 34 years. He was an associate at Morris, KixMiller & Baar from 1934 to 1942, and a partner at Morris, Pearce, Gardner & Pratt from 1946 to 1968, when he was appointed to the federal bench.

Federal judicial service

Pratt was nominated by President

on April 11, 1968, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Alexander Holtzoff Alexander Holtzoff (November 7, 1886 – September 6, 1969) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Education and career Born in New York City, Holtzoff received an Artium Baccalaure ...

. 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 6, 1968, and received his commission on June 7, 1968.

Notable cases

Pratt presided over a number of high-profile cases during his time on the bench, including the trial of

in connection with the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

. In 1974, Pratt oversaw the

bench trial A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a jury. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems ( Roman, Islamic) use bench trials ...

of Liddy, finding him guilty of two counts of contempt of Congress. Pratt also presided over ''Hoffa v. Saxbe'', a case in which former

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a trade union, labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a di ...

leader James R. Hoffa unsuccessfully made a constitutional challenge to the condition of his 1971 presidential pardon barring him from engaging in "direct or indirect management of any labor union" until March 1980.
Hoffa v. Saxbe
', 378 F.Supp. 1221 (D.D.C. 1974). Pratt ruled in 1974 that the condition of the pardon was valid because (1) it had a direct relationship to the public interest and (2) it did not "unreasonably infringe" on Hoffa's constitutional freedoms. Pratt also issued rulings on important civil rights issues. He ordered the restoration of the

Defense Department A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

security clearances of two homosexuals in 1971, holding that "government security evaluators cannot subject homosexuals to 'probing personal questions' about their sex lives or withhold security clearances for refusal to answer such questions." Pratt also presided over another case, ''Adams v. Richardson'', brought by the

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is an American civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Although LDF ca ...

. The NAACP sought to compel the

United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Im ...

(HEW) to speed up desegregation in schools.William A. Link, ''William Friday: Power, Purpose, and American Higher Education'' (2d ed: University of North Carolina Press, 1995), pp. 253-54. Pratt rejected the HEW's argument that Title VI of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

gave the department the discretion to wait for "voluntary compliance" from the states. Citing '' Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education'', Pratt ruled that desegregation was to occur "at once" in the 113 school districts, mostly in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, that had failed to desegregate. Pratt also ordered the withholding of federal funding from school districts that failed to comply. Pratt's decision was largely affirmed by 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, ...

, although it set a ten-month timeframe for states to create desegregation plans, rather than the four-month timeframe set by Pratt. Pratt also oversaw the long-running ''Evans'' case, involving conditions at the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

's Forest Haven institution in

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, a home for persons with

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

and

developmental disabilities Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

.
Evans v. Smith
', Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse,

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 ...

.Spencer S. Hsu
After 40 years, U.S. court ends supervision of D.C.'s care for mentally disabled citizens
''Washington Post'' (January 10, 2017). Pratt determined that "patients' constitutional rights to adequate care and treatment had been violated" and issued an order setting forth sweeping changes to be made at the facility, including the movement of 20% of patients to community treatment facilities and limits on the use of physical restraints. In 1990, Pratt held the district in

civil contempt Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...

of court after learning that just two physicians were caring for 232 Forest Haven residents, including one who had been determined to be "professionally incompetent" by the Maryland Commission on Medical Discipline two years earlier. Pratt ruled that the district was "continuing obdurate resistance" to providing adequate services to the patients. After missing a 1988 court-imposed deadline to close Forest Haven, the district finally closed the facility in 1991. Pratt continued to oversee the case until his death, however. In 1995, Pratt announced that he would appoint a

special master In the law of the United States, a special master is an official appointed by a judge to ensure judicial orders are followed, or in the alternative, to hear evidence on behalf of the judge and make recommendations to the judge as to the dispositi ...

to oversee "the network of community-based living arrangements that have replaced Forest Haven" because of the district's delays in paying caseworkers and other providers; he appointed Margaret G. Farrell as special master the following year. Federal court monitoring of the district's programs for people with intellectual disabilities continued until 2017. In another notable case, ''Broderick v. Ruder'', Pratt ruled in favor of complainant Catherine A. Broderick, a

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

attorney, finding that Broderick had suffered from pervasive

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

at the SEC's regional office in Washington.Sharon Warren Walsh
Judge Finds Sexual Harassment at SEC Office
''New York Times'' (May 14, 1988).

Senior status and death

Pratt assumed senior status on December 1, 1989, and from then on chose to hear only civil cases. He called the

Federal Sentencing Guidelines The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules published by the U.S. Sentencing Commission that set out a uniform policy for sentencing individuals and organizations convicted of felonies and serious (Class A) misdemeanors in the Unite ...

"atrocious" and believed they set forth excessively harsh penalties for first-time offenders. Pratt was also a critic of

mandatory minimum sentence Mandatory sentencing requires that people convicted of certain crimes serve a predefined term of imprisonment, removing the discretion of judges to take issues such as extenuating circumstances and a person's likelihood of rehabilitation into co ...

s and in the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Pratt served as chairman of the Committee on Judicial Ethics of the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial co ...

from 1984 to 1990. He remained on the court until he died on August 11, 1995, at his home in

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

, Maryland, of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

Personal life

Pratt married Bernice Safford Pratt, known as Sissy, on October 25, 1938. They had five children, four daughters and one son.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, John Helm 1910 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American lawyers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Deaths from lung cancer in Maryland Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Military personnel from New Hampshire People from Chevy Chase, Maryland People from Portsmouth, New Hampshire United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson United States Marine Corps officers Harvard College alumni