Robert Hugh McWilliams Jr. (April 27, 1916 – April 10, 2013) was a
United States circuit judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and a justice of the
Colorado Supreme Court.
Education and career
Born in
Salina, Kansas, McWilliams graduated from
South High School in
Denver, then received an
Artium Baccalaureus
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from the
University of Denver in 1938 and a
Bachelor of Laws from the
Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver in 1941. From 1941 to 1942, he was deputy district attorney of Denver. In addition, McWilliams was a special agent of the
Office of Naval Intelligence from 1942 to 1945. He was in the
United States Army as a Sergeant in the
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...
from 1945 to 1946. He was district attorney of Denver from 1946 to 1949. From 1949 to 1952, McWilliams was in private practice in Denver. He served as a judge of the Municipal Court in Denver from 1949 to 1952. From 1952 to 1961, he was a judge of the Second Judicial District in the City of Denver and
Denver County
Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...
. He served as a justice of the
Supreme Court of Colorado from 1961 to 1970.
Federal judicial service
McWilliams was nominated by President
Richard Nixon on September 22, 1970, to a seat on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated by Judge
Jean Sala Breitenstein
Jean Sala Breitenstein (July 18, 1900 – January 30, 1986) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the ...
. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate on October 8, 1970, and received his commission on October 14, 1970. He assumed
senior status on August 31, 1984, and took inactive senior status in 2011. His service terminated on April 10, 2013, due to his death in Denver, seventeen days shy of his 97th birthday.
See also
*
List of United States federal judges by longevity of service
This is a list of Article III United States federal judges by longevity of service. The judges on the lists below were presidential appointees who have been confirmed by the Senate, and who served on the federal bench for over 40 years. It includ ...
References
Sources
*
Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:McWilliams, Robert Hugh Jr.
1916 births
2013 deaths
Lawyers from Denver
People from Salina, Kansas
University of Denver alumni
Sturm College of Law alumni
Colorado state court judges
Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Richard Nixon
20th-century American judges
Naval Criminal Investigative Service people
United States Army soldiers