Clarkson Sherman Fisher Explained

Clarkson Sherman Fisher
Office:Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Term Start:October 1, 1987
Term End:July 27, 1997
Office1:Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Term Start1:1979
Term End1:1987
Predecessor1:George H. Barlow
Successor1:John F. Gerry
Office2:Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Term Start2:October 16, 1970
Term End2:October 1, 1987
Appointer2:Richard Nixon
Predecessor2:Reynier Jacob Wortendyke Jr.
Successor2:John C. Lifland
Birth Name:Clarkson Sherman Fisher
Birth Date:8 July 1921
Birth Place:Long Branch, New Jersey
Death Place:Princeton, New Jersey

Clarkson Sherman Fisher (July 8, 1921 – July 27, 1997) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Education and career

Born in Long Branch, New Jersey, Fisher was a sergeant in the United States Army during World War II, from 1942 to 1945, and was a reserve sergeant from 1946 to 1949. He received a Bachelor of Laws from the Notre Dame Law School in 1950. He entered private practice in Long Branch from 1951 to 1964. He was a councilman in West Long Branch, New Jersey from 1959 to 1964, serving as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1964. He was a judge of the Monmouth County Court in New Jersey from 1964 to 1966, and of the Superior Court of New Jersey from 1966 to 1970.

Federal judicial service

On October 7, 1970, Fisher was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey vacated by Judge Reynier Jacob Wortendyke Jr. Fisher was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 13, 1970, and received his commission on October 16, 1970. He served as Chief Judge from 1979 to 1987, assuming senior status on October 1, 1987. He served in that capacity until his death on July 27, 1997, in Princeton, New Jersey.

Family

Fisher's son, Clarkson S. Fisher, Jr., also is a judge, having served on the Superior Court of New Jersey since 1993, and on that court's Appellate Division since 2003.

Honor

The Clarkson S. Fisher Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Trenton, New Jersey is named in his honor.