Sam Ellis Haddon (born June 19, 1937) is an American attorney and jurist serving as an inactive senior United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Montana The United States District Court for the District of Montana (in case citations, D. Mont.) is the United States District Court whose jurisdiction is the state of Montana (except the part of the state within Yellowstone National Park, which is und ...

Early life and education

Haddon was born in

West Monroe, Louisiana West Monroe is the second largest city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 13,103. It is situated on the Ouachita River, across from the neighboring city of Monroe. The two c ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

in 1959 and 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 Montana School of Law The Alexander Blewett III School of Law is a law school at the University of Montana in Missoula. It was established in 1911 and remains Montana's only law school. Its name was changed from the University of Montana Law School to its current name ...

in 1965.

Career

Haddon was an Immigration Patrol Inspector,

United States Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and is responsible for secu ...

from 1959–1961. He was an Agent with the

Federal Bureau of Narcotics The Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, with the enumerated powers of pursuing crimes related to the possession, distribution, and trafficking of listed narcotics including cannabis, ...

from 1961–1962. Haddon began his legal career as a law clerk for

William James Jameson William James Jameson (August 8, 1898 – October 8, 1990) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana. Education and career Born in Butte, Montana, Jameson received an Artium Baccalaure ...

. He was in private practice in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

from 1966–2001 at the law firm of Boone, Karlberg and Haddon. Since 1971 he has been an adjunct instructor at the University of Montana School of Law.w

Federal judicial service

Haddon, along with

Richard F. Cebull Richard Frank Cebull (born March 18, 1944) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana. Early life and career Born in Billings, Montana, and raised in Roundup, Montana, Cebull receive ...

, was recommended for the United States District Court for the District of Montana by Montana Senators

Max Baucus Maxwell Sieben Baucus ( Enke; born December 11, 1941) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Montana from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a U.S. senator for over 35 years, making him the long ...

and

Conrad Burns Conrad Ray Burns (January 25, 1935 – April 28, 2016) was an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator from Montana from 1989 to 2007. He was only the second Republican popularly elected to represent Montana in the ...

. He would fill the Great Falls seat vacated by Judge Charles C. Lovell. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

nominated Haddon on May 17, 2001. Haddon 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 July 20, 2001 with a unanimous 95-0 vote. He was sworn in on July 25, 2001. Haddon took senior status on December 31, 2012. Cebull also retired from active service a few months later, leaving

Dana L. Christensen Dana Lewis Christensen (born May 23, 1951) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana. Education Christensen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1973 from Stanford University ...

the only active judge. Haddon ceased taking cases after August 31, 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haddon, Sam Ellis 1937 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Montana Rice University alumni United States Border Patrol agents United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush University of Montana alumni University of Montana faculty People from Great Falls, Montana