Richard Harvey Chambers (November 7, 1906 – October 21, 1994) was a
United States circuit judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts:
* Distric ...
.
Education and career
Chambers was born to William Rock and Lida Chambers in
Danville,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. Three months later, the family moved to
Solomonville,
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, where his father worked as clerk of the district court of
Graham County. In 1924, Chambers graduated as class president from
Safford High School
Safford High School, of the Safford Unified School District, is one of two public high schools in Safford, Arizona. The campus hosts the Safford Center for the Arts, located on the north lot of the campus property.
History of the SHS campus
Sa ...
in
Safford, Arizona, and then earned a
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 in economics from the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
in 1929, where he served as editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. Chambers 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
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...
in 1932. He practiced law in
Tucson
Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
, Arizona from 1932 to 1942, and from 1945 to 1954. He served as a
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
Major from 1942 to 1945.
Federal judicial service
Chambers 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 6, 1954, to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts:
* Distric ...
, to a new seat created by 68 Stat. 871. 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 27, 1954, and received his commission on April 30, 1954. 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 August 6, 1959 to July 1, 1976, the longest-serving chief judge in the history of the Ninth Circuit and the "longest-tenured chief of any circuit, ever." He assumed
senior status on December 31, 1976. His service was terminated on October 21, 1994, due to his death.
Honor and legacy
The
United States Court of Appeals Building in
Pasadena, California, bears his name; but four other historic courthouses in the Ninth Circuit—in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
,
Portland,
Tacoma, and
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
—also owe "their survival and resurrection" to Chambers' "vision and tenacity."
Personality
Chambers "had something of a coarse exterior" as well as a "slow, low, and deliberate speaking style" that he himself described as "halting speech." The gruff appearance only lightly concealed "a mischievous sense of humor." For instance, Chambers frequently wrote memoranda to his colleagues under the pseudonym, "Tom Chambers," the name of his
palomino
Palomino is a equine coat color, genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane (horse), mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. The palomino color derived from the breeding of Spanish hor ...
horse. Chambers dedicated himself to writing judicial prose that was succinct, folksy, even quirky, believing that in writing accessible decisions, his court could more effectively create legal precedent, provide popular accountability, and produce a usable historical record.
[Hanley, 91, 94–95, 122.]
References
Further reading
*
* Caleb Langston, "Built to Last: Judge Richard H. Chambers and His Pasadena Courthouse," ''Western Legal History'', 19 (2006), 3–25.
* Michael Eric Siegel, "Riding Tall in a Small Saddle: The Chief Judgeship of Richard H. Chambers, ''Western Legal History'', 19 (2006), 27–53.
* Cynthia Holcomb Hall, "A Former Law Clerk Remembers," ''Western Legal History'', 19 (2006), 55–57.
* Lee M. A. Simpson, "Preserving the Ninth Circuit," ''Western Legal History'', 19 (2006), 59–88.
* Alfred T. Goodwin, "Judge Chambers Confers Sainthood: A Reminiscence," ''Western Legal History'', 19 (2006), 89–90.
* Rebekah Heiser Hanley, "Matters of Style, Matters of Opinion: The Voice and Legacy of Richard Chambers, ''Western Legal History'', 19 (2006), 91–122.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Richard Harvey
1906 births
1994 deaths
People from Danville, Illinois
Military personnel from Illinois
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower
People from Safford, Arizona
United States Army Air Forces officers
University of Arizona alumni
Stanford Law School alumni