Gerhard Gesell
Gerhard Gesell | |
|---|---|
Washington,_D.C.,_Nov._4._A_preliminary_investigation_by_the_S.E.C._of_Life_Insurance_Co._Corporate_LCCN2016874285.jpg) | |
| Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia | |
| In office January 22, 1993 – February 19, 1993 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia | |
| In office December 12, 1967 – January 22, 1993 | |
| Appointed by | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Spottswood William Robinson III |
| Succeeded by | Paul L. Friedman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gerhard Alden Gesell June 16, 1910 Los Angeles, California |
| Died | February 19, 1993 (aged 82) Washington, D.C. |
| Education | Yale University (A.B.) Yale Law School (LL.B.) |
Gerhard Alden Gesell (June 16, 1910 – February 19, 1993) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Education and career
Born in
Washington, DC, from 1941 to 1967. In 1945 and 1946, he served as Chief Assistant Counsel for the Democrats during the Pearl Harbor hearings. He chaired the President's Committee on Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces from 1962 to 1964.[1]
Federal judicial service
On November 29, 1967, Gesell was nominated by US President
US Senate on December 7, 1967, and received his commission on December 12, 1967. Gesell assumed senior status on January 22, 1993, and served in that status until his death on February 19, 1993, in Washington, DC.[1]
Watergate trials
In 1973, Judge Gesell ruled illegal the firing of special prosecutor Archibald Cox by Acting Attorney General Robert Bork under the orders of President Richard Nixon in the so-called Saturday Night Massacre.[2]
In 1974, Gesell presided over trials of the so-called
Kenneth W. Parkinson was acquitted. Gesell later ruled that the office tape recordings of President Nixon were in the public domain because they had been played during a Watergate trial; his finding would be upheld by the Supreme Court.[3]
Iran-Contra trial
In 1989, Gesell was the presiding judge in the government's case against
Iran-Contra arms sale, of ordering the destruction of documents, and of accepting an illegal gratuity. On July 5, 1989, Gesell probated North's three-year prison sentence but fined him $150,000, sentenced him to 1,200 hours community service, and placed him on two years' probation. Those convictions, however, were later vacated by an appeals court because North had been granted immunity for his testimony to Congress. After further hearings on the immunity issue, Gesell dismissed all charges against North on September 16, 1991.[4]
References
- ^ a b Gerhard Alden Gesell at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ Nader v. Bork, 366 F. Supp. 104 (D.D.C. 1973)
- ^ Levy, Claudia (February 21, 1993). "District Judge Gerhard Gesell Dies at Age 82". Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ^ "Walsh Iran/Contra Report – Chapter 2 United States v. Oliver L. North". Fas.org. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
Sources
- Gerhard Alden Gesell at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
