George W. Anderson (judge)

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George W. Anderson
Thomas J. Boynton
Personal details
Born
George Weston Anderson

(1861-09-01)September 1, 1861
Acworth, New Hampshire, U.S.
DiedFebruary 14, 1938(1938-02-14) (aged 76)
DeLand, Florida, U.S.
Residence(s)Wellesley, Massachusetts
DeLand, Florida
EducationWilliams College (AB)
Boston University School of Law (LLB)

George Weston Anderson (September 1, 1861 – February 14, 1938) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Education and career

Born on September 1, 1861, on a farm in Acworth, New Hampshire,[1] Anderson received an Artium Baccalaureus degree, cum laude,[1] in 1886 from Williams College and a Bachelor of Laws, magna cum laude,[1] in 1890 from Boston University School of Law.[2] He entered private practice in Boston, Massachusetts from 1890 to 1914.[2] He was an instructor at Boston University School of Law from 1891 to 1894.[2] He was the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 1914 to 1917.[2] He was a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission from 1917 to 1918.[2]

Role in Brandeis confirmation

In 1916, he worked to win Senate approval of

United States Supreme Court, serving as counsel to the subcommittee that considered the nomination and conducting some of the crucial cross examination of witnesses.[3]

Constitutional convention delegate

In 1916, the Massachusetts General Court and electorate approved a calling of a Constitutional Convention.[4] Anderson was elected as a Delegate at Large to serve as a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1917.[5]

Federal judicial service

Anderson was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson on October 1, 1918, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated by Judge Frederic Dodge.[2] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 24, 1918, and received his commission the same day.[2] He assumed senior status on September 30, 1931.[2] His service terminated on February 14, 1938, due to his death.[2]

Notable case

Anderson was noted for dissenting when the court upheld some of the convictions arising from the

A. Mitchell Palmer had ignored due process in arresting radicals in late 1919 and early 1920, a former Department of Justice official testified that Anderson had shown favoritism to witnesses on behalf of the defendant aliens in the Colyer deportation case.[8]

Family

Anderson was married for eight years to Winnie E. Mitchell of Mason, New Hampshire, until her death. They had two sons and a daughter. In 1897 he married Addie Earle Kenerson of Boston, who survived him.[9] The same year, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[10] He lived in the Wellesley Hills neighborhood of Wellesley, Massachusetts.[citation needed]

Retirement and death

Anderson took inactive senior status in 1932, meaning that while he remained a federal judge, he no longer heard cases or participated in the business of the court. He died at his winter home in DeLand, Florida, on February 14, 1938.[1]

Further reading

References

  1. ^
    New York Times
    . February 15, 1938.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i George Weston Anderson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  3. ^ Melvin I. Urofsky, Louis D. Brandeis: A Life (Pantheon, 2009), 443-5, 452-3, 457, 832
  4. ^ Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, MA: Wright & Potter printing co., state printers, 1919, pp. 7–8
  5. ^ Bridgman, Arthur Milnor (1919), A Souvenir of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, Boston, 1917-1919, Stoughton, MA: A. M. (Arthur Milnor) Bridgman, p. 58
  6. ISBN 978-0-393-05880-2
    .
  7. ^ Murray B. Levin, Political Hysteria in America: The Democratic Capacity for Repression (NY: Basic Books, 1971), 81
  8. ^ New York Times: "Criticizes Judge Anderson," February 17, 1921, accessed February 13, 2010
  9. ^ Who's who in New England: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men ... edited by Albert Nelson Marquis
  10. ^ "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 18 April 2011.

Sources

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
1918–1931 		Succeeded by
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