Chief Judge William H. Hastie
Born November 17, 1904, in Knoxville, TN
Died April 14, 1976, in Philadelphia, PA
Federal Judicial Service
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Received a recess appointment from Harry S. Truman on October 21, 1949 to a new seat authorized by 63 Stat. 493; nominated to the same position by Harry S. Truman on January 5, 1950.
Confirmed by the Senate on July 19, 1950, and received commission on July 22, 1950.
Served as chief judge, 1968-1971.
Assumed senior status on May 31, 1971.
Service terminated on April 14, 1976, due to death.
Other Federal Judicial Service
Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of the Virgin Islands, 1937-1939
Judge, Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals, 1972-1976
Education
Amherst College, A.B., 1925
Harvard Law School, LL.B., 1930
Harvard Law School, S.J.D., 1933
Professional Career
Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1930-1933
Assistant solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1933-1937
Dean, Howard University School of Law, 1939-1946
Civilian aide to the Secretary of War, 1940-1943
Governor, Virgin Islands, 1946-1949
Member, Judicial Conference of the United States, 1968-1971
Other Nominations/Recess Appointments
Nominated to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, October 15, 1949; no Senate vote.
Biographical
Phillip McGuire, He, Too, Spoke for Democracy: Judge Hastie, World War II, and the Black Soldier. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.
Gilbert Ware, William Hastie: Grace Under Pressure. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984.
Special Ceremonies
United States. Court of Appeals (Third Circuit), Special Session in Memory of Judge William H. Hastie, June 18, 1976. View Online
United States. Court of Appeals (Third Circuit), The Portrait Presentation of the Honorable William H. Hastie, October 28, 1997. View Online
Oral History
William H. Hastie. William H. Hastie Oral History. Interview conducted on January 5, 1972, by Jerry N. Hess. Harry S. Truman Library, Independence, Missouri, 1972. Transcript, 107 pages. View Online
Publications
William H. Hastie, Judicial Role and Judicial Image, 121 U. Pa. L. Rev. 947 (1973). View Online
Papers
William Henry Hastie papers, 1916-1976.
Harvard University Law School, Cambridge, Mass.
74 linear ft. (ca. 39,000 items); finding aid; collection includes correspondence, drafts, slip sheets of legal opinions, memoranda, reports, dockets, research material and notes, clippings, legal and legislative documents, and manuscripts of published and unpublished writings. View Online Finding Aid
William Henry Hastie papers, 1949-1975.
Howard University, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Washington, D.C.
30 ft.; collection contains selected opinions from the Office of Price Administration and the U.S. Emergency Court of Appeals; photographs; and miscellaneous news clippings relating to Hastie's achievements.