Pat Mehaffy (October 8, 1904 – January 31, 1981) 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 ...

Education and career

Born in

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, Mehaffy 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 Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M ...

in 1927. He was in private practice in Little Rock from 1929 to 1930. He was an assistant state

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

of Arkansas from 1929 to 1933. He was chief deputy prosecuting attorney of Pulaski County, Arkansas from 1934 to 1938. He was prosecuting attorney of Pulaski County from 1939 to 1940. He was in private practice in Little Rock from 1940 to 1963.

Federal judicial service

Mehaffy 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 June 24, 1963, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Joseph William Woodrough Joseph William Woodrough (August 29, 1873 – October 2, 1977) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court fo ...

. 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 July 15, 1963, and received his commission on July 16, 1963. He served as Chief Judge from 1973 to 1974. He assumed senior status due to a certified disability on August 31, 1974. Mehaffy served in that capacity until his death on January 31, 1981, in Little Rock.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehaffy, Pat 1904 births 1981 deaths Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by John F. Kennedy University of Arkansas School of Law alumni