Anthony Alaimo

Anthony Alaimo
Photo taken in 1990
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
In office July 1, 1991 – December 30, 2009
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
In office 1976–1990
Preceded by	Alexander Atkinson Lawrence Jr.
Succeeded by	Berry Avant Edenfield
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
In office December 9, 1971 – July 1, 1991
Appointed by	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Seat established by 84 Stat. 294
Succeeded by	William Theodore Moore Jr.
Personal details
Born	Anthony Alfred Alaimo (1920-03-29)March 29, 1920 Termini Imerese, Sicily, Italy
Died	December 30, 2009(2009-12-30) (aged 89) Brunswick, Georgia
Education	Ohio Northern University (B.A.) Emory University School of Law (J.D.)

Anthony Alfred Alaimo (March 29, 1920 – December 30, 2009) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

Education and career

Born in Termini Imerese in Sicily, Italy, Alaimo received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Northern University in 1940, and then served as an aviator in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, from 1941 to 1945. He achieved the rank of Second Lieutenant. Alaimo spent much of World War II as a prisoner of war, captured after the plane he was co-piloting was shot down.

After the war, Alaimo received a Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law in 1948 and entered the private practice of law in Atlanta, Georgia from 1948 to 1957, and in Brunswick, Georgia from 1957 to 1971.

Federal judicial service

On November 29, 1971, President Richard Nixon nominated Alaimo to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia created by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 2, 1971, and received his commission on December 9, 1971. He served as Chief Judge from 1976 to 1990, and assumed senior status on July 1, 1991, serving in that role until his death. Alaimo was also a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1990 to 1993.

The pace of Alaimo's court earned it the nickname "the Rocket Docket."

Death

Alaimo died on December 30, 2009, after being admitted to a Southeast Georgia Health System hospital in Brunswick, Georgia for treatment of an undisclosed condition. He was 89 years old.

Sources

• Anthony Alaimo receives an honorary degree at the age of 89
• Anthony A. Alaimo at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Coppola, Vincent. 2009. The Sicilian Judge: Anthony Alaimo, an American Hero. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.