Appointed by Ronald Reagan Name Harry Wellford Preceded by Seat established | Appointed by Richard Nixon Preceded by Bailey Brown | |
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Born August 6, 1924 (age 99)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. ( 1924-08-06 ) Alma mater Washington and Lee University
Vanderbilt University Education Washington and Lee University, Vanderbilt University Law School | ||
Succeeded by Eugene Edward Siler, Jr. | ||
Harry Walker Wellford (born August 6, 1924) is a Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
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Education and career
Born on August 6, 1924, in Memphis, Tennessee, Wellford received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington and Lee University in 1947. He received a Bachelor of Laws from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1950. He was in the United States Navy as an Ensign from 1944 to 1946. He was in private practice of law in Memphis from 1950 to 1970. He also was active in political affairs, managing the successful campaigns of Howard Baker for United States Senate in 1966 and Winfield Dunn for Governor of Tennessee in 1970.
Personal
Wellford was married to Katherine Estes Potts Wellford, and they had five children.
Federal judicial service
Wellford was nominated by President Richard Nixon on November 24, 1970, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 11, 1970, and received commission on December 12, 1970. His service was terminated on September 10, 1982, due to elevation to the Sixth Circuit.
On August 4, 1976 President Gerald Ford nominated Wellford to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to replace William Ernest Miller, who had died on April 12, 1976. Civil rights groups objected to Wellford's nomination and, with the nomination coming so late in Ford's presidency, the Senate never took a vote on his nomination before Ford left office. President Jimmy Carter declined to renominate Wellford when he took office, nominating Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. instead.
Wellford was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on July 27, 1982, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated by Judge Bailey Brown. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 20, 1982, and received commission the same day. He assumed senior status on January 15, 1991.