Thomas Walter Swan

For other people with a similar name, see Thomas Swann (disambiguation).

Thomas Walter Swan (December 20, 1877 – July 13, 1975) was a circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Thomas Walter Swan
Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
In office July 1, 1953 – July 13, 1975
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
In office 1951–1953
Preceded by	Learned Hand
Succeeded by	Harrie B. Chase
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
In office December 22, 1926 – July 1, 1953
Appointed by	Calvin Coolidge
Preceded by	Henry Wade Rogers
Succeeded by	Carroll C. Hincks
Personal details
Born	Thomas Walter Swan (1877-12-20)December 20, 1877 Norwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	July 13, 1975(1975-07-13) (aged 97) New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Education	Yale University (BA) Harvard University (LLB)

Education and career

Born in Norwich, Connecticut Swan received an B.A. degree from Yale University in 1900. He graduated as a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1903. He was in private practice of law in Chicago, Illinois from 1903 to 1916. He was a lecturer in law at the University of Chicago from 1903 to 1904, and in 1908. He was Dean and Professor of Law at Yale Law School from 1916 to 1927.

Federal judicial service

Swan was nominated by President Calvin Coolidge to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated by Judge Henry Wade Rogers. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 22, 1926, and served as Chief Judge and as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1951 to 1953. He assumed senior status on July 1, 1953.

Swan died on July 13, 1975 at his home in New Haven, Connecticut at the age of 97.

Notable decisions as sitting judge

• Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp. - 1930
• United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries - 1936
• United States v. Peoni - 1938
• Kenan v. Commissioner - 1940
• United States v. Crimmins - 1941
• United States v. Alcoa - 1945
• Farid-Es-Sultaneh v. Commissioner - 1947
• United States v. Drescher - 1950
• American Communications Ass'n v. Douds - 1950
• Wilko v. Swan - 1953
• Stanton v. United States - 1959

See also

• List of United States federal judges by longevity of service

Sources

• "Swan, Thomas Walter - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
• Gunther, Gerald (April 12, 1994). Learned Hand : the man and the judge. with a foreword by Lewis F. Powell, Jr. New York, NY: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-58807-X. LCCN 93022868. LCC KF373.H29 G76 1994. (biography of Learned Hand, Swan's fellow judge on the Second Circuit, contains extensive discussion of Swan)
• Marcia Nelson, The Remarkable Hands: An Affectionate Portrait (Federal Bar Foundation 1983)
• Marvin Schick, Learned Hand's Court (Johns Hopkins 1970)

External links

• Works by or about Thomas Walter Swan at Wikisource