Joseph Tyree Sneed, III
| Joseph Tyree Sneed, III | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
| In office August 24, 1973 – July 21, 1987 | |
| Appointed by | Richard M. Nixon |
| United States Deputy Attorney General | |
| In office February 1973 – August 24, 1973 | |
| President | Richard M. Nixon |
| Preceded by | Ralph E. Erickson |
| Succeeded by | William Ruckelshaus |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Tyree Sneed, III July 21, 1920 Calvert, Texas |
| Died | February 9, 2008 (aged 87) San Francisco, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Madelon Montross Juergens |
| Children | Carly Fiorina Clara Sneed Joseph Sneed IV |
| Alma mater | Southwestern University (B.A) Harvard Law School (S.J.D.) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/branch |  United States Army Air Corps |
| Years of service | 1942-1946 |
| Rank |  Staff Sergeant |
Joseph Tyree Sneed, III (July 21, 1920 – February 9, 2008) was a Republican United States Deputy Attorney General and then a member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for nearly 35 years until his death.
Early life
Sneed was born in Calvert, Texas (near Bryan-College Station), the son of Cara Carlton (Weber) and Harold Marvin Sneed, a rancher and landowner.[1][2] He spent his youth working summers as a cowboy on his uncle's ranch in the Texas Panhandle.
World War II service
In addition to his law degree, Sneed received an S.J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1958. He earned his undergraduate degree from Southwestern University in 1941 and served as a Staff Sergeant in the Army Air Corps during World War II.
Career/education
He attended the University of Texas School of Law, where he received his LL.B., Order of the Coif in 1947. The school offered him an assistant professor position upon graduation. He became an associate professor in 1951 and was made a full professor in 1954. The law school subsequently established an endowed scholarship in his name. Sneed spent 10 years on the faculty of his law school alma mater.
Sneed moved on to teach at Cornell Law School from 1957 to 1962, Stanford Law School from 1962 to 1971 (two of Sneed's colleagues on the Ninth Circuit bench, Judges Pamela A. Rymer and Raymond C. Fisher, both studied tax law under him at Stanford), and Duke University School of Law from 1971 to 1973, where he was Dean. Sneed then briefly served in the United States Department of Justice as Deputy Attorney General in 1973 before his nomination to the federal bench.
Judicial service
Sneed was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat vacated by Frederick G. Hamley on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on July 25, 1973, was confirmed by the Senate on August 3, 1973, and received his judicial commission on August 24, 1973. He served as an active judge of the court until taking senior status on July 21, 1987. He continued to hear cases and serve the court in other capacities for many more years. At the time of his death, he was the fourth most senior judge on the court.
Over his long career, Judge Sneed served on advisory committees to the Ninth Circuit, the Federal Judicial Center, the American Judicature Society and the American Bar Association. He also served as the President of the Association of American Law Schools for 1968.
Sneed was part of a controversial three-judge panel that replaced Whitewater special prosecutor Robert B. Fiske with Kenneth Starr in 1994. Fiske was replaced after he found there were insufficient grounds to bring charges against the Clinton Administration. The two other judges were David B. Sentelle and John D. Butzner. Sentelle was a Reagan appointee from North Carolina whose political patron was Jesse Helms. Butzner was a holdover from the LBJ era. Political conservatives, such as Rush Limbaugh, had called for Fiske's removal.[3]
Personal life
Sneed was married to Madelon Juergens Sneed, a portrait and abstract artist, who died before him. Together they had a son and two daughters, including former Hewlett Packard executive Carly Fiorina. He died in San Francisco, California, aged 87.
References
External links
- Joseph Tyree Sneed, III at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- New York Times coverage of Whitewater
- L.A. Legalpad.com website
- www.netmagic.net
- Irag Timeline (1994)
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ralph E. Erickson |
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Served under: Richard Nixon 1973 |
Succeeded by William Ruckelshaus |