Albert Lee Stephens, Jr.
Albert Lee Stephens Jr. (February 19, 1913 – September 6, 2001) was a United States federal judge, President John F. Kennedy's first appointee to the federal court
Born in Los Angeles, California, Stephens was the son of Judge Albert Lee Stephens, Sr. formerly on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and brother of the late California Court of Appeal Associate Justice Clarke E. Stephens. A Hollywood High School graduate, he received an A.B. from the University of Southern California in 1936, and an LL.B. from the University of Southern California Law School in 1938. He was in private practice in Los Angeles from 1939 to 1943, leaving practice to serve as a U.S. Naval Reserve Lieutenant from 1943 to 1946, and then returning to private practice in Los Angeles until 1959. Stephens was appointed to the Superior Court in Los Angeles by Democratic Governor Pat Brown in 1959, holding that position until 1961.
On August 28, 1961, Stephens was nominated by President John F. Kennedy to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California vacated by Benjamin Harrison. Stephens was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 8, 1961, and received his commission on September 18, 1961. On September 18, 1966, the districts of California were reorganized, and Stephens was reassigned by operation of law to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He supervised the large number of cases that arose from the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. He served as chief judge from 1970 to 1979, assuming senior status on June 1, 1979. He continued to serve in that capacity until his death in 2001, in Mammoth Lakes, California.
Sources
- Albert Lee Stephens, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.