Justin Lowe Quackenbush (born 1929) is a United States federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Quackenbush was born in Spokane, Washington. His father, Carl Quackenbush, was a law student who eventually became a Superior Court judge in Spokane.[1]
Quackenbush received a B.A. from the University of Idaho in 1951. He received an LL.B. from Gonzaga University School of Law, his father's alma mater, in 1957. He was in the United States Navy from 1951 to 1954. He was a deputy prosecuting attorney in Spokane County, Washington from 1957 to 1959. He was in private practice in Spokane from 1959 until his judicial nomination. He was active in Democratic Party politics, regularly serving as the campaign manager for Tom Foley's successful Congressional election campaigns starting in 1964 for over a decade.[2][3]
Quackenbush also taught at Gonzaga University School of Law from 1961 to 1967, and was an active Mason.[2]
On May 9, 1980, President Jimmy Carter nominated Quackenbush to the seat vacated by Marshall A. Neill. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 18, 1980, and received his commission the same day. Because Neill was the only judge in the district, and had died in October 1979, Quackenbush and fellow appointee Robert J. McNichols immediately faced a tremendous backlog of cases.[4]
He served as chief judge from 1989 to June 27, 1995, when he assumed senior status.
In 1991, Quackenbush was accused of illegally bringing whiskey into a Spanish restaurant that did not have a liquor license, and threatening to have the restaurant owner deported when she complained; Quackenbush paid a $100 fine for the misdemeanor liquor violation and apologized, saying that his immigration remark was a joke.[5][6] The Judicial Council for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to discipline Quackenbush, citing his "exemplary" record.[7]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Marshall A. Neill |
Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington May 9, 1980 – June 27, 1995 Senior status, June 27, 1995 – present |
Succeeded by Robert H. Whaley |