Ralph Karl Winter Jr. (July 30, 1935 – December 8, 2020) 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 Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has ap ...

Early life and career

Born in

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, Winter graduated from the

Taft School The Taft School is a private coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It enrolls approximately 600 students in grades 9–12. Overview History The school was founded in 1890 as Mr. Taft's School (renamed t ...

in 1953. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1957 and obtained his

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

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1960. He served as a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

for Judge

Caleb Merrill Wright Caleb Merrill Wright (October 7, 1908 – May 12, 2001) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. Education and career Born in Georgetown, Delaware, Wright received a Bachelor of Arts d ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Delaware The United States District Court for the District of Delaware (in case citations, D. Del.) is the United States district court, Federal district court having jurisdiction over the entire state of Delaware. The Court sits in Wilmington, Delaware, ...

from 1960 to 1961 and as a law clerk for Judge

Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...

of the

from 1961 to 1962. He served as a faculty member at

from 1962 to 1982, as a research associate and lecturer from 1962 to 1964, as an assistant and associate professor from 1964 to 1968 and as a professor of law from 1968 to 1982. He was a consultant to the Subcommittee on Separation of Powers of the

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

from 1968 to 1972. He was a senior fellow at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

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 ...

, from 1968 to 1970. He was a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

in Washington, D.C., from 1971 to 1972. He was an adjunct scholar at the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...

in Washington, D.C., from 1972 to 1981. He was a member of the Board of Trustees at

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty. ...

. Winter advocated for limited government involvement in business matters. He also supported state control in such matters, as opposed to federal control.

Federal judicial service

President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

nominated Winter on November 18, 1981, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Walter R. Mansfield. 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 December 9, 1981, and received his commission on December 10, 1981. He served as

Chief Judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...

from 1997 to 2000. He assumed senior status on September 30, 2000. He was 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 1997 to 2000. From 2003 to 2010, Winter also served as one of the three judges on the

United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISCR) is a U.S. federal court whose sole purpose is to review denials of applications for electronic surveillance warrants (called FISA warrants) by the United States Foreign ...

. He died on December 8, 2020, from esophageal cancer.

Notable law clerks

* Steven G. Calabresi, clerked 1983–1984, also clerked for

Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American legal scholar who served as solicitor general of the United States from 1973 until 1977. A professor by training, he was acting United States Attorney General and a judge on ...

and Antonin Scalia * Paul G. Mahoney, clerked 1984–1985, also clerked for Thurgood Marshall * George T. Conway III, clerked 1987–1988 * Robert J. Giuffra Jr., clerked 1987–1988, also clerked for William Rehnquist *

Laura Ingraham Laura Anne Ingraham (; born June 19, 1963) is an American conservative television presenter. Gale Biography In Context. She has been the host of '' The Ingraham Angle'' on Fox News Channel since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of Li ...

, clerked 1991–1992, also clerked for Clarence Thomas *

Emmet Flood Emmet Thomas Flood IV is an American attorney who served as the interim White House counsel to U.S. President Donald Trump from October 17, 2018, to December 10, 2018, following the resignation of Don McGahn. He also served as a special counse ...

, clerked 1992–1993, also clerked for Antonin Scalia *

Florence Y. Pan Florence Yu Pan (Chinese characters, Chinese: 潘愉; pinyin: ''Pān Yú''; born November 16, 1966) is an American lawyer who serves as a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Dist ...

, clerked 1994–1995 * Wendy E. Stone (Long), clerked 1996–1997, also clerked for Clarence Thomas * Robert M. Daines

References

External links

* *
Court Says Regulator Exceeded Its Power
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter, Ralph K. Jr. 1935 births 2020 deaths 21st-century American judges American legal scholars Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit People from Waterbury, Connecticut United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan Taft School alumni Yale Law School alumni Yale Law School faculty Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review

Early life and career

Federal judicial service

Notable law clerks

See also

References

External links