Walter C. Lindley (July 12, 1880 – January 3, 1958) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois.

Education and career

Born in

Neoga Neoga is a city in Cumberland County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,398 at the 2020 census, down from 1,636 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Charleston– Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area. The current mayor of Neoga ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, Lindley 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 Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

, a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1904 from the

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law or UIUC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public university in Champaign, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S. ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1910 from the same institution. He was in private practice in Danville, Illinois from 1904 to 1922. He was a master in chancery for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois from 1912 to 1918. He was a member of the Vermillion County, Illinois Board of Supervisors from 1916 to 1920.

Federal judicial service

Lindley was nominated by President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

on September 20, 1922, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois, to a new seat authorized by 42 Stat. 837. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on September 22, 1922, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on October 23, 1949, due to his elevation to the Seventh Circuit. Lindley served as a Judge of the Emergency Court of Appeals from 1944 to 1958. In 1932 when

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the Un ...

retired from

the Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, Lindley was on President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

’s list of possible replacements,Nemacheck, Christine L.; ''Strategic Selection: Presidential Nomination of Supreme Court Justices from Herbert Hoover Through George W. Bush'', pp. 147-148 although the seat ultimately went to

Benjamin N. Cardozo Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870 – July 9, 1938) was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the New York Court of Appeals from 1914 to 1932 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1932 until his dea ...

. Lindley was nominated by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

on September 15, 1949, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated by Judge Sherman Minton. He was confirmed by the Senate on October 12, 1949, and received his commission on October 13, 1949. His service terminated on January 3, 1958, due to his death.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindley, Walter C. 1880 births 1958 deaths Illinois state court judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois United States district court judges appointed by Warren G. Harding Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Harry S. Truman 20th-century American judges People from Cumberland County, Illinois University of Illinois College of Law alumni