Richard Howard Battey (October 16, 1929 – May 6, 2017) was 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 South Dakota The United States District Court for the District of South Dakota (in case citations, D.S.D.) is the United States District Court or the Federal district court, whose jurisdiction for issues pertaining to federal law or diversity for the state of ...

Education and career

Battey was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. After attending the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is t ...

in 1950, he received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of South Dakota School of Law The University of South Dakota School of Law also known as University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law or USD Law in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, is a professional school of the University of South Dakota and the only law school ...

in 1953. After serving as a

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 ...

lieutenant from 1953 to 1955, he went into private practice in Redfield, South Dakota, from 1955 to 1985.

Federal judicial service

Battey was nominated to be a United States district judge of the

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 ...

on September 27, 1985. 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 October 25, 1985, and received his commission on October 28, 1985. He served as chief judge from 1994 to 1998. He assumed senior status on January 1, 1999, serving in that status until his death.

'Sue' dinosaur fossil dispute

Battey is known for being the presiding judge in the dispute over the recovery fossil remains on federal lands including by the Sue discoverer

Peter Larson Peter Lars Larson (born 1952) is an American fossil dealer who is head of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, which specialises in the excavation and preparation of fossils. He led the team that excavated " Sue", one of the largest ...

and Black Hills Institute of Geological Research paleontologists. Following a trial on charges unrelated to the "Sue" ''T. rex'' find, Larson was convicted of two felonies and two misdemeanors, charges which some considered politically motivated. Battey sentenced Larson to two years in federal prison. In 2015, South Dakota lawmakers petitioned

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

for a formal full pardon of Larson. Battey is portrayed in a negative light for his handling of Sue Dinosaur Case in the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Documentary '' Dinosaur 13''.

Notable law clerks

Among Battey's notable judicial law clerks were David Lust and Marty Jackley.

Death

Richard Battey died in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, on May 6, 2017.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battey, Richard 1929 births 2017 deaths University of South Dakota alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan United States Army officers People from Aberdeen, South Dakota People from Redfield, South Dakota People from Alexandria, Minnesota University of South Dakota School of Law alumni