Oren Ritter Lewis Explained

Oren Ritter Lewis
Office:Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Term Start:January 1, 1974
Term End:June 12, 1983
Office1:Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Term Start1:May 31, 1960
Term End1:January 1, 1974
Appointer1:Dwight D. Eisenhower
Predecessor1:Charles Sterling Hutcheson
Successor1:David Dortch Warriner
Birth Date:7 October 1902
Birth Place:Seymour, Indiana, U.S.
Death Place:Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Resting Place:Columbia Gardens Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
Residence:Arlington County, Virginia
Education:George Washington University Law School (LL.B.)

Oren Ritter Lewis (October 7, 1902 – June 12, 1983) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Education and career

Born in Seymour, Indiana, Lewis received a Bachelor of Laws from George Washington University Law School in 1939. He was in private practice in Arlington County, Virginia from 1940 to 1960.

Federal judicial service

On March 21, 1960, Lewis was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia vacated by Judge Charles Sterling Hutcheson. Lewis was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 31, 1960, and received his commission the same day. He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1970 to 1973. He assumed senior status on January 1, 1974. He served in that capacity until his death.

Death

Lewis died of a heart attack suffered at his Arlington County home on June 12, 1983, dying at Arlington Hospital in Arlington County. He continued to preside over cases up until his death.[1] [2] Lewis is buried at the Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington.[3]

Notes and References

  1. News: Walter H.. Waggoner. June 14, 1983. The New York Times. Judge Oren R. Lewis; Key Figure in Ruling in '54 on School Bias. June 26, 2013.
  2. News: Smith . Philip . June 14, 1983 . Judge Oren Lewis Dies at 80 . The Washington Post . Washington, D.C. . December 5, 2018.
  3. Web site: Columbia Gardens Cemetery . 1983 - Oren Lewis, federal judge, interred. Lewis authored an opinion used as the basis of the 1954 Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education. . 2021-10-24.