Name Oliver Gasch | Education Princeton University | |
Died July 8, 1999, Washington, D.C., United States | ||
Oliver Gasch (May 4, 1906 – July 8, 1999) was a United States federal judge.
Born in Washington, D.C.., Gasch received an A.B. from Princeton University in 1928 and an LL.B. from George Washington University Law School in 1932. He was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1932. He was an assistant corporation counsel for the city of Washington, D.C. from 1937 to 1953. He was general counsel to the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin from 1940 to 1960. He served in the United States Army during World War II, from 1942 to 1946, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel in the JAG Corps. He was a principal assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1953 to 1956, and was then the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1956 to 1961. He was in private practice in Washington, D.C. from 1961 to 1965.
On July 12, 1965, Gasch was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, vacated by Edward A. Tamm. Gasch was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 11, 1965, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on November 30, 1981. Gasch served in that capacity until his death, in Washington, D.C.
During a hearing on March 5, 1991, overseeing Joseph Steffan's lawsuit, Gasch famously used the term "homo" several times to refer to Steffan or to homosexuals generally. On March 11, 1991, Steffan's attorneys asked Gasch to disqualify himself based on the prejudice evidenced by his language.[6] In April, Gasch refused to disqualify himself.[7]
Gasch was married to Sylvia Meyer, a harpist and the first woman member of the National Symphony Orchestra.