Robinson O. Everett (March 18, 1928 – June 12, 2009) was an American lawyer, judge and a professor of law at Duke University.

Family and education

Everett was born in Durham, North Carolina, to a family of lawyers: his grandfather and both of his parents were noted North Carolina attorneys. His father, Reuben Oscar Everett, was one of the first five law students at Duke and his mother, Kathrine Everett, was one of the first women to graduate from the

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Carol ...

, where she ranked at the head of her class and was the first woman to argue and win a case before the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consis ...

. In 1954, the Everetts were the first family of lawyers sworn in together to the bar of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

. Everett graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

in 1947 from Harvard University, at age 19. He also graduated magna cum laude from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, where he was on the

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

. He also received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from

Duke University School of Law Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit ...

in 1959.

Career

Everett was admitted to the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

and joined the Duke law school faculty that same year at age twenty two. He holds the record as the youngest faculty member in Duke's history. In over fifty years of teaching at Duke (as well as at the

and

Wake Forest University School of Law The Wake Forest University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Wake Forest University. Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Wake Forest University School of Law is a private American Bar Association (ABA) accredited ...

), Everett regularly taught courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, law and national defense and military law. He was the founder of the Center on Law, Ethics, and National Security at the Duke University School of Law. During the Korean War Everett joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

, where he was assigned to the

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called ju ...

. From 1961 to 1964, Everett served part-time as counsel to the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nomination ...

, which led to the enactment of the Military Justice Act of 1968. He was appointed by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

to the serve as a senior judge for the Court of Appeals for the Armed Services and as a Commissioner and then Chief Judge for the

United States Court of Military Appeals United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

(now the

Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (in case citations, C.A.A.F. or USCAAF) is an Article I court that exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces on active duty and other perso ...

) from 1980 until 1990. He was the author of the textbook ''Military Justice in the Armed Forces of the United States'', and of numerous articles on military law, criminal procedure, evidence and other legal topics. As an attorney, Everett practiced in the following areas of law: administrative law; civil and criminal appeals; commercial real property; commercial litigation; construction litigation; zoning and land use regulation. Everett was also actively involved in redistricting litigation. As both counsel and plaintiff, he twice successfully challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

s drawn by the North Carolina General Assembly which violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Professional memberships

He was active in bar and professional associations, having served as president of the Durham County,

North Carolina Bar Association The North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) is the voluntary (non-mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of North Carolina. NCBA membership is voluntary and tax money is not involved in its support. In contrast, the North Carolina State Bar a ...

; as a member of the

North Carolina State Bar Council North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

; as both a member and chair of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

's Standing Committee on Military Law; and as a member of the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and Evidence. He was a life member of the

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also called the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, is a non-profit, American unincorporated association. Established in 1892, the ULC aims to provide U.S. states (plus the Washington, D. ...

and the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs ...

. He was a Fellow of the

American Bar Foundation The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is an independent, nonprofit national research institute established in 1952 and located in Chicago. Its mission is to expand knowledge and advance justice by supporting innovative, interdisciplinary and rigoro ...

and a director of the

American Judicature Society The American Judicature Society (AJS) is an independent, non-partisan membership organization working nationally to protect the integrity of the American justice system. AJS's membership — including judges, lawyers, and members of the public — ...

Awards and recognition

In 1993 he received the

Charles S. Murphy Charles Springs Murphy (August 20, 1909 – August 28, 1983) was an American attorney who served as the White House Counsel to U.S. President Harry S. Truman from 1950 to 1953. Prior to this, he was a staff member in the office of the legislative ...

Award for public service from the Duke Law Alumni Association. In 2000 he received the ABA's

Morris I. Liebman Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manito ...

Award. He was also the recipient of the Professionalism Award from the Chief Justice's Committee on Professionalism. He was the first recipient of the Judge Advocates Association's life service award, which is incidentally named after him. He received the John J. Parker Memorial Award from the North Carolina Bar Association in 2004.

References

External links

Duke Law School biographyEverett and Everett Law Firm Founded in 1908
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Everett, Robinson O. 1928 births 2009 deaths North Carolina lawyers American legal scholars Harvard Law School alumni Duke University School of Law alumni Duke University School of Law faculty Wake Forest University faculty Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces United States Article I federal judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges