Terence T. Evans

For other people named Terry Evans, see Terry Evans (disambiguation).

Terence Evans
Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
In office August 11, 1995 – January 7, 2010
Nominated by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Richard Cudahy
Succeeded by	Vacant
Chief Judge of the District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
In office 1991–1995
Preceded by	Robert Warren
Succeeded by	Joseph Stadtmueller
Judge of the District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
In office November 2, 1979 – August 11, 1995
Nominated by	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	Charles Clevert
Personal details
Born	March 25, 1940 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	August 11, 2011
Alma mater	Marquette University

Terence Thomas Evans (March 25, 1940 – August 11, 2011) was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Evans received a B.A.degree from Marquette University in 1962 and his J.D. degree from Marquette University Law School in 1967. He was assistant district attorney for Milwaukee County, Wisconsin and was in private practice. Later, he was a Wisconsin state court trial judge.

In 1979, Evans was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to be a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He served as Chief Judge of the Eastern District from 1991 until his nomination to the Seventh Circuit by President Bill Clinton in 1995. He took senior status in 2010.

Evans' judicial philosophy was marked by pragmatism, an approach well-served at the appellate level by his previous experience as a trial judge. He is particularly known for his sense of humor, and his willingness and ability to weave lighthearted remarks into his judicial opinions. Perhaps the best known example of this was the judge's opinion in United States v. Murphy, 406 F.3d 857, 859 (7th Cir. 2005), in which the following footnote was included:

"The trial transcript quotes Ms. Hayden as saying Murphy called her a snitch bitch 'hoe.' A 'hoe,' of course, is a tool used for weeding and gardening. We think the court reporter, unfamiliar with rap music (perhaps thankfully so), misunderstood Hayden's response. We have taken the liberty of changing 'hoe' to 'ho,' a staple of rap music vernacular as, for example, when Ludacris raps 'You doin' ho activities with ho tendencies."

Judge Richard Posner was also once the subject of Judge Evans' wit, when he stated in Bankcard America, Inc. v. Universal Bancard Systems, Inc., 203 F.3d 477 (7th Cir.), cert denied, 531 U.S. 877 (2000):

"Football fans know the sickening feeling: your team scores a big touchdown but then a penalty flag is tossed, wiping out the play. Universal Bancard Systems, Inc. knows that feeling firsthand after seeing not one, but two big touchdowns called back. The referee who waved off the first--a $ 7.8 million verdict--and then the second--a $ 4.1 million jury verdict after a second trial--was the Honorable Richard A. Posner, the circuit's chief judge who in this case was wearing, by designation, the robe of a district judge. Like the instant replay official, we now review the decisions of our colleague--using the voluminous record rather than a television monitor and recognizing that our review in 1999 of a case that began in 1993 is a far cry from instant."

In another memorable quote, Evans described a case as "gummed up from the get-go". See Johnson v. McCaughtry, 265 F.3d 559, (7th Cir. 2001, dissenting opinion by EVANS), describing a case where petitioner Johnson lost his chance to be heard in federal Habeas Corpus (and thus dooming him to serve the remainder of his two consecutive life sentences) because of a delay caused by the state court which made petitioner Johnson's otherwise "properly filed" application for state review technically out of time. Johnson supra, at 9-10.

An often-cited district court decision in an admiralty case from 1983 showed Evans' use of humor to veil his impatience with arguments he thought invalid: "[L]ike the Phantom Dutchman, this case has sailed once again into my harbor. The plaintiffs request that I vacate the judgment dismissing their action. Three reasons are given suggesting that I may have "lost my bearings" in reaching my earlier decision. . . . The plaintiffs must not have heard the foghorns which were blaring at them during the oral argument and in my earlier decision. . . . The plaintiffs' attempts to recast the facts are unpersuasive. Indeed, they lead only to the suspicion that had plaintiffs' counsel been at the helm of the INAGUA ESPANA, their sense of direction may have prevented the goods from reaching Scotland in the first place, seawater-soaked or no. Chester v. MARITIMA del LITORAL, S.A., 586 F.Supp. 192 (E.D.Wisc.1983)

According to the technology website CNET.com, Evans became the first federal judge to cite to a YouTube video in a published opinion, in an opinion he authored July 9, 2007.

On July 28, 2009, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Judge Evans has notified the President of his intention to take senior status to take effect on January 7, 2010, on the "30-year anniversary of when he first took the federal bench." This created a vacancy on the 7th Circuit.

Evans died suddenly on August 11, 2011, as a result of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Sources

• Terence T. Evans at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
New seat	Judge of the District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin 1979–1995	Succeeded by Charles Clevert
Preceded by Robert Warren	Chief Judge of the District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin 1991–1995	Succeeded by Joseph Stadtmueller
Preceded by Richard Cudahy	Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit 1995–2010	Vacant