Ernest Sherrill Halbert (October 17, 1901 – May 31, 1991) 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 Northern District of California The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, De ...

and the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (in case citations, E.D. Cal.) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appe ...

Education and career

Born in Terra Bella,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Halbert received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1924 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

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was ...

in 1927. He was in private practice in Porterville, California from 1927 to 1941, also serving as chief deputy district attorney of

Tulare County Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lake ...

, California from 1927 to 1936. He was a deputy state attorney general of California in 1942, returning to private practice 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 ...

, California from 1942 to 1944, and in

Modesto Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is locate ...

, California from 1944 to 1949. He was a chief deputy district attorney of Stanislaus County, California from 1944 to 1949, and district attorney of that county in 1949, until he became a Judge of the

Superior Court of California Superior courts in California are the State court (United States), state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governm ...

, from 1949 to 1954.

Federal judicial service

On August 19, 1954, Halbert 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 ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Dal Millington Lemmon. Halbert 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 August 20, 1954, and received his commission on August 26, 1954. On September 18, 1966, he was reassigned by

operation of law The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies wi ...

to the

, to a new seat authorized by 80 Stat. 75. He assumed senior status on September 30, 1969, serving in that capacity until his death on May 31, 1991, in San Rafael, California.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Halbert, Sherrill 1901 births 1991 deaths California state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California United States district court judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower People from Porterville, California UC Berkeley School of Law alumni