Michael Boudin (/buːˈdiːn/ boo-DEEN; November 29, 1939 – March 24, 2025) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as a United States circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1992 to 2021. He served as Chief Judge of that court from 2001 to 2008. Before his service on the First Circuit, he was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He died on March 24, 2025.
Michael Boudin | |
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 | |
| Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit | |
| In office June 1, 2013 – December 15, 2021 | |
| Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit | |
| In office June 15, 2001 – June 16, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Juan R. Torruella |
| Succeeded by | Sandra Lynch |
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit | |
| In office May 26, 1992 – June 1, 2013 | |
| Appointed by | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Levin H. Campbell |
| Succeeded by | David J. Barron |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia | |
| In office August 7, 1990 – January 31, 1992 | |
| Appointed by | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | John H. Pratt |
| Succeeded by | Gladys Kessler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 29, 1939 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | March 24, 2025 (aged 85) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Spouse | Martha Field (separated) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
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| Relatives |
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| Education | Harvard University (AB, LLB) |
Early life and education
editBoudin was born in Manhattan, New York, on November 29, 1939, the son of poet Jean (Roisman) Boudin[1] and the civil liberties attorney Leonard Boudin, and older brother of Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin.[2][3][4] He was educated at Elizabeth Irwin High School before going on to Harvard University, where he graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Arts. He then attended Harvard Law School, where he was president of the Harvard Law Review.[4] He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1964.[2]
He was a law clerk for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1964 to 1965 and then clerked for Justice John Marshall Harlan II of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1965 to 1966.[5]
Legal career
editFrom 1966 to 1987, Boudin practiced regulatory law at Covington & Burling, a Washington, D.C., law firm. He spent 21 years at Covington & Burling, primarily drafting appellate briefs in complex regulatory matters for corporate clients. He worked as a visiting professor at Harvard Law School from 1982 to 1983, and then as a lecturer there from 1983 to 1998. He then served in President Reagan's Justice Department as a deputy assistant United States Attorney General of the Antitrust Division from 1987 to 1990.[5]
Federal judicial service
editOn May 18, 1990, President George H. W. Bush nominated Boudin to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, to a seat vacated by John H. Pratt. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 3, 1990, and received his commission on August 7, 1990. Boudin served on the District Court for about 18 months, but resigned on January 31, 1992, to return to Massachusetts.[5]
Two months later, on March 20, 1992, President Bush nominated Boudin to an appellate judgeship on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, headquartered in Boston, to the seat vacated when Judge Levin H. Campbell assumed senior status. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 21, 1992, and received his commission on May 26, 1992.[5] Boudin served as Chief Judge of the First Circuit from 2001 to 2008. He assumed senior status on June 1, 2013.[6][5] He retired from service on December 15, 2021.[5]
Personal life and death
editBoudin was married to Harvard Law professor Martha Field.[2] They separated in later years but did not divorce.[4] He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2010.[7] His nephew, Chesa Boudin, is a lawyer who was the District Attorney of San Francisco from 2020 to 2022.
Boudin died from complications of dementia and Parkinson's disease at a care facility in Boston on March 24, 2025, at the age of 85.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Jewish Currents". 2007.
- ^ a b c d Langer, Emily (March 24, 2025). "Michael Boudin, federal judge who forged his own path, dies at 85". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ Margolick, David (April 24, 1992). "An Unusual Court Nominee, N.Y. Times (April 24, 1992)". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c Nossiter, Adam (March 25, 2025). "Michael Boudin, Independent Judge From a Family on the Left, Dies at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f "Boudin, Michael - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
- ^ "Senior Status for Judge Michael Boudin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 8, 2014.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
External links
edit- Michael Boudin at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Michael Boudin at Ballotpedia
- Appearances on C-SPAN