Joe Ewing Estes

Joe Ewing Estes (October 24, 1903 – October 24, 1989) was a United States federal judge.

Born in Commerce, Texas, Estes received an LL.B. from the University of Texas in 1927. He was in private practice in Commerce, Texas from 1928 to 1930, and then in Fort Worth, Texas until 1942. He served in the U.S. 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.

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 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, assuming senior status on July 1, 1972 and serving in that capacity until his death, in 1989.

Sources

• Joe Ewing Estes at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.