James Alger Fee | |
---|---|
Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | |
In office April 30, 1954 – August 25, 1959 |
|
Nominated by | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Preceded by | Clifton Mathews |
Succeeded by | M. Oliver Koelsch |
Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Oregon | |
In office March 18, 1931 – April 30, 1954 |
|
Nominated by | Herbert Hoover |
Preceded by | Robert S. Bean |
Succeeded by | William G. East |
Personal details | |
Born |
Pendleton, Oregon |
September 24, 1888
Died | August 25, 1959 Florida |
(aged 70)
Resting place |
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia |
Nationality | United States |
Spouse(s) | Alice Emma Tomkins (1897–1995) |
Children | none |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | U.S. Army |
Years of service | 1917–1919 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Unit | Air Service |
Battles/wars | World War I |
James Alger Fee (September 24, 1888 – August 25, 1959) was a United States federal judge from Oregon. He served as a federal district court judge in Portland, Oregon, and as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the 1950s. A veteran of the U.S. Army, his first judicial position was with the Oregon Circuit Court. While a federal judge he made national news for his decision during World War II regarding the application of the exclusion orders that had forced those of Japanese heritage from the West Coast.
James Alger was born in Eastern Oregon in the city of Pendleton on September 24, 1888. He went to college in Walla Walla, Washington, at Whitman College. There he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1910 and was a member of the Gamma Zeta Chapter of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He then moved to New York City and earned a master's degree at Columbia University. After this Fee went on to law school at Columbia’s law school, graduating in 1914 with a Bachelor of Laws degree.
Fee returned to Oregon where he passed the bar in 1914, and entered private practice in his hometown of Pendleton. In 1916, he began serving as that city’s attorney, staying until 1917 when he joined the U.S. Army's Air Service as a lieutenant. Fee remained with the army until 1919, when moved to the War Department as a member of the legal staff. In 1920, he left the War Department and returned to Pendleton and private practice.