Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr.

Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr., known as Bud Brimmer (July 11, 1922 – October 23, 2014), was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming.

Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr.
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
In office
September 27, 2006  October 23, 2014
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
In office
1986–1992
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAlan Bond Johnson
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
In office
September 16, 1975  September 27, 2006
Appointed byGerald Ford
Preceded byEwing Thomas Kerr
Succeeded byNancy D. Freudenthal
United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming
In office
1974–1975
PresidentGerald Ford
Preceded byRichard V. Thomas
Succeeded byJames P. Castburg
23rd Attorney General of Wyoming
In office
1971–1974
GovernorStanley K. Hathaway
Preceded byJames Emmett Barrett
Succeeded byDavid B. Kennedy
Chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party
In office
1967–1971
Personal details
Born
Clarence Addison Brimmer Jr.

(1922-07-11)July 11, 1922
Rawlins, Wyoming
DiedOctober 23, 2014(2014-10-23) (aged 92)
Boulder, Colorado
ChildrenPhilip A. Brimmer
ResidenceCheyenne, Wyoming
EducationUniversity of Michigan (B.A.)
University of Michigan Law School (J.D.)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1942-1946

Education and career

Brimmer was born in Rawlins in Carbon County in southern Wyoming, to the attorney Clarence A. Brimmer Sr. and the former Geraldine Zingsheim. Brimmer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at which he was the editor of the university's The Michigan Daily. In 1944 Brimmer joined the United States Army Air Forces, in which he attained the rank of sergeant and served until 1946. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1947. Brimmer joined his father's law firm, Brimmer & Brimmer, through which he gained experience as a trial attorney. He was in private practice in Rawlins from 1947 to 1971. He was the state chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party from 1967 to 1971, when he was appointed by Governor Stanley K. Hathaway as the state attorney general, a post he filled until 1974.[1] Brimmer was a Republican candidate in the 1974 Wyoming gubernatorial primary. He polled nearly a quarter of the Republican vote, a strong fourth-place finish, but he lost the nomination to trucking executive Dick Jones of Cody, who in turn was defeated in the general election by a Democrat, Edgar Herschler. Another candidate in the gubernatorial primary was Malcolm Wallop of Sheridan, who in 1976 won one of the United States Senate seats from Wyoming.[2] Brimmer was in private practice in Rawlins once again in 1974, while he also ran for governor, and was briefly the United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming in 1975.

Federal judicial service

On July 23, 1975, President Gerald Ford nominated Brimmer to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming vacated by Judge Ewing Thomas Kerr. Brimmer was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 15, 1975, and received his commission the following day. He served as Chief Judge from 1986 to 1992 and assumed senior status on September 27, 2006. He was succeeded by Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal, the wife of Democratic former Governor Dave Freudenthal. He took inactive senior status in June 2013, but remained a federal judge until his death.[3]

Notable case

In 2008 Brimmer ordered a new trial for James Harlow, a Wyoming State Penitentiary inmate who had been on death row after conviction of murdering a prison officer in 1997. Brimmer said that Harlow had been denied a fair trial in the state court because his public defender had been made to fear he would be dismissed for representing Harlow and for seeking more state revenues for the public defenders office.[3]

Personal

Brimmer's son Philip A. Brimmer became a federal judge in Colorado in 2008, an appointee of President George W. Bush.[4] Clarence Brimmer died at the age of 92 in Boulder, Colorado.[1]

References

  1. "Former federal judge Brimmer dies at 92". Billings Gazette. October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  2. Congressional Quarterly Press Guide to U.S. Elections, 2005 edition, p. 1607
  3. "U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer retires at 90". Billings Gazette. June 27, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  4. Felisa Cardona (October 6, 2008). "Denver and the West: Judicial service runs in the family". Denver Post. Retrieved October 30, 2014.

Sources

Legal offices
Preceded by
James E. Barrett
Attorney General of Wyoming
1971–1974
Succeeded by
David B. Kennedy
Preceded by
Ewing Thomas Kerr
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
1975–2006
Succeeded by
Nancy D. Freudenthal
Preceded by
Office established
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
1986–1992
Succeeded by
Alan Bond Johnson
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.