HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - William Joseph Nealon Jr.
OR:
William Joseph Nealon Jr. on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

William Joseph Nealon Jr. (July 31, 1923 – August 30, 2018) was an American
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Un ...
who was
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, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
of the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania. The court was created in 1901 by subdividing t ...
. He was the last judicial appointee from the
Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States * John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana * Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with ...
administration remaining on the federal bench and among the longest-serving federal judges in history, with over 26 years of active service and nearly 56 years of total service.


Education and career

Born on July 31, 1923, in
Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming Vall ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
, Nealon was a First Lieutenant in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, from 1942 to 1945. He received a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree from
Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pen ...
in 1947 and 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 ...
from the
Columbus School of Law The Columbus School of Law, also known as Catholic Law or CUA Law, is the law school of the Catholic University of America, a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. More than 400 Juris Doctor students attend Catholic ...
at the
Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U. ...
in 1950. He was in private practice in Scranton from 1951 to 1960, also lecturing at the
University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was ele ...
from 1951 to 1959. He was a hearing examiner for the
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) is an independent government agency that manages the beverage alcohol industry in Pennsylvania by administering the Pennsylvania Liquor Code. It is responsible for licensing the possession, sale, stor ...
from 1955 to 1959. He was a judge on the
Lackawanna County Lackawanna County (; unm, Lèkaohane) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and had a population of 215,896 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Scranton. The count ...
Court of Common Pleas from 1960 to 1962.


Federal judicial service

On December 13, 1962, Nealon received a
recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...
from President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
to a seat on the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania. The court was created in 1901 by subdividing t ...
vacated by John W. Murphy. Formally nominated on January 15, 1963, Nealon 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 ...
on March 15, 1963, and received his commission on March 27, 1963. He served as Chief Judge from 1976 to 1989, assuming
senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on January 1, 1989, and died on August 30, 2018, in Scranton.


Honor

The
William J. Nealon Federal Building and United States Courthouse The William J. Nealon Federal Building and United States Courthouse is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was completed in 1931, and was listed on the Nat ...
, located in Scranton, is named in his honor.


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

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nealon, William Joseph Jr. 1923 births 2018 deaths People from Scranton, Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania Villanova University alumni Columbus School of Law alumni Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania United States district court judges appointed by John F. Kennedy 20th-century American judges United States Marine Corps officers