Morton Poe Fisher (February 14, 1897 – February 11, 1965) was a judge of the

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a Federal judiciary of the United States, federal trial court court of record, of record established by US Congress, Congress under Article One of the United States Constitution, Article ...

from 1954 until his death in 1965.Andrew B. Young, American Bar Association, ''Bulletin of the Section of Taxation'', Vol. 18, No. 3 (April 1965), p. 4-5.

Education, military service, and career

Born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

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 ...

, Fisher served in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

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 ...

. He received an A.B. from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1919, and gained admission to the bar in Maryland that same year. He immediately entered the practice of law in

, and received an

LL.B. 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 Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

in 1920, where he received an award for highest scholastic average and best legal thesis.''Official Congressional Directory'' (1961), p. 616-17. He remained in civil practice until 1923, when he became an assistant

U.S. attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Maryland until 1925, returning to private practice in Baltimore until 1927. He was a special assistant to the Attorney General in the Tax Division of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

from 1928 to 1930, and was again in private practice in Baltimore from 1931 to 1943. In

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

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 ...

and achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was awarded a Certificate of Merit, an Army Commendation Ribbon, and a Battle Star. After the war, he was a member of the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

Excess Profits Tax Council from 1946 to 1947, after which he returned to private practice in Baltimore until 1954.

Judicial service

In 1954, 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 ...

nominated Fisher to a seat on the United States Tax Court. Fisher was confirmed by the United States Senate, and took his oath of office as judge on March 4, 1954. He was reappointed for succeeding term beginning June 2, 1956, set to expire June 1, 1968, but he died three years before the end of his term.

Teaching and writing

In addition to his professional activities, Fisher was a lecturer at the University of Baltimore on Federal Taxation from 1941 to 1943 and from 1946 to 1953, and on Maryland Pleading from 1949 to 1953. During this time, he co-authored Fisher on Maryland Pleading (2d edition). He also held various positions with the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

and the

Maryland State Bar Association The Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of 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 ...

Personal life

Fisher married Adelaide Rose Block of Baltimore, with whom he had one daughter and one son.

References

1897 births 1965 deaths Lawyers from Baltimore United States Navy personnel of World War I Johns Hopkins University alumni University System of Maryland alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Judges of the United States Tax Court United States Article I federal judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower {{US-federal-judge-stub