Harold Montelle Stephens

Harold Montelle Stephens
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
In office September 1, 1948 – May 28, 1955
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	Henry White Edgerton
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
In office September 1, 1948 – May 28, 1955
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	Warren E. Burger
Chief Justice of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
In office March 5, 1948 – September 1, 1948
Appointed by	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Duncan Lawrence Groner
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Associate Justice of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
In office July 27, 1935 – March 9, 1948
Appointed by	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded by	William Hitz
Succeeded by	James McPherson Proctor
Personal details
Born	(1886-03-06)March 6, 1886 Crete, Nebraska
Died	May 28, 1955(1955-05-28) (aged 69) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic

Harold Montelle Stephens (March 6, 1886 – May 28, 1955) was a United States federal judge who served as the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Born in Crete, Nebraska, Stephens attended the University of California and received an A.B. from Cornell University in 1909. In 1913, he received an LL.B. from Harvard Law School, from which he would go on to receive an S.J.D. in 1932. He entered private practice in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1912. He worked as a prosecutor in Salt Lake County, Utah from 1915 until 1917, when he was appointed to a seat on the Third Judicial District Court of Utah. He returned to his private practice in 1921, relocating to Los Angeles, California in 1928. In 1933, he moved to Washington, D.C., to become the first Assistant Attorney General in charge of the newly established Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice.

On July 23, 1935, Stephens was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated by William Hitz. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 24 and received his commission on July 27, 1935. On February 2, 1948, Stephens was nominated by President Harry S. Truman to replace D. Lawrence Groner as chief judge. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 2, 1948, and received his commission on March 5, 1948. Stephens served in that capacity until his death.

Sources

• Daniel R. Ernst, "State, Party, and Harold M. Stephens: The Utahn Origins of an Anti-New Dealer." Western Legal History 14 (Summer/Fall 2001): 123-57
• Daniel R. Ernst, "Dicey's Disciple on the D.C. Circuit: Judge Harold Stephens and Administrative Law Reform, 1933-1940." Georgetown Law Journal 90 (2002): 787-812
• Harold Montelle Stephens at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.