Joe Ewing Estes Explained

Joe Ewing Estes
Office:Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Term Start:July 1, 1972
Term End:October 24, 1989
Office1:Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Term Start1:1959
Term End1:1972
Predecessor1:Joseph Brannon Dooley
Successor1:Leo Brewster
Office2:Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Term Start2:August 1, 1955
Term End2:July 1, 1972
Appointer2:Dwight D. Eisenhower
Predecessor2:William H. Atwell
Successor2:Eldon Brooks Mahon
Birth Name:Joe Ewing Estes
Birth Date:24 October 1903
Birth Place:Commerce, Texas
Education:University of Texas at Austin (LLB)

Joe Ewing Estes (October 24, 1903 – October 24, 1989) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Education and career

Born in Commerce, Texas, Estes received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Texas School of Law in 1927. He was in private practice in Commerce from 1928 to 1930, and then in Fort Worth, Texas until 1942. He served in the United States Naval Reserve during World War II, from 1942 to 1945, achieving the rank of Lieutenant. He thereafter returned to private practice, in Dallas, Texas from 1946 to 1955.

Federal judicial service

On July 18, 1955, Estes was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated by Judge William H. Atwell. Estes was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 28, 1955, and received his commission on August 1, 1955. He served as Chief Judge from 1959 to 1972 and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1969 to 1971. He assumed senior status on July 1, 1972. He served as a Judge of the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals from 1972 to 1987. He remained in senior status until his death on October 24, 1989, his 86th birthday.