Lester LeFevre Cecil (November 21, 1893 – November 26, 1982) was a United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...

and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (in case citations, S.D. Ohio) is one of two United States district courts in Ohio and includes forty-eight of the state's eighty-eight counties—everything from the Columbus, Oh ...

Education and career

Born in Miami County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, Cecil 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 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 1917. He was in private practice in

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, Ohio from 1917 to 1922, interrupted briefly by his service as a Sergeant 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 I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1918. He was prosecuting attorney for Dayton from 1922 to 1925. He was a Judge of the Municipal Court of Dayton from 1926 to 1929, and of the Montgomery County

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

from 1929 to 1953.

Federal judicial service

Cecil was nominated by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

on April 1, 1953, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Robert Reasoner Nevin. 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 April 23, 1953, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on July 28, 1959, due to his elevation to the Sixth Circuit. Cecil was nominated by President Eisenhower on February 17, 1959, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Potter Stewart Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an American lawyer and judge who was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981. During his tenure, he made major contributions to criminal justice reform ...

. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 15, 1959, and received his commission on July 18, 1959. He served as Chief Judge and as a member 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 1962 to 1963. He assumed senior status on August 1, 1965. His service terminated on November 26, 1982, due to his death.

References

External links

*
Lester L. Cecil Lincoln Collection, Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cecil, Lester Lefevre 1893 births 1982 deaths Ohio state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Miami County, Ohio Politicians from Dayton, Ohio Lawyers from Dayton, Ohio United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I